Far From Serene
by Miss Red Panda
Summary: Kagome is raped in her time, and Inuyasha smells it. And, as if one rape isn't enough, the gang has to try and stop another rape, that could rob all of them of their lives. Rated for Language, Romance, and Violence.
1. Default Chapter

Wow… fun. Yeah, the summary doesn't sound like me, does it! I got this idea while video taping our 8th grade basketball game… should be interesting. Wish me luck, I think there's a lot more thought going into this fan fiction than any I've written before. ON WITH THE DISCLAIMER and/or STORY!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Kagome, or anyone else in the manga/anime Inuyasha. I will, however, be the proud owner of a Kirara plushy because I'm buying myself one for Christmas. YAY!

* * *

A full moon hung innocently in the sky. All was silent and still in the Forest Of Inuyasha. Nothing too different in this mostly deserted forest, but the silence had an eerie and almost murderous feel to it. The pregnant silence that filled the air was at once broken as the loud growls sliced through the air of an angry half demon.

"WENCH! LET ME EAT MY RAMEN!" The silver haired half demon growled, his silver dog ears twitching at every little twig that broke on the ground as Kagome crazily ran around. She was deadly excited that she and Inuyasha alone had defeated such a large demon. She was even more excited that it had been her arrow that brought the demon down.

"Inuyasha, how can you be so cranky? We just got four more shards!" Kagome screeched, Inuyasha growled even louder, cupping his white dog ears with his hands.

"You're just excited because you took the demon down." Inuyasha scowled, taking another mouthful of noodles.

"WOULDN'T YOU BE?" She shouted, and Inuyasha scowled._I always take down the demons… even though it's to protect you and the runt… and Sango and Miroku..'_

"If you don't shut up, and leave me to my ramen, I'll-" The angry hanyou started, but Kagome just laughed.

"You'll do what? You couldn't hurt me Inuyasha." Kagome said, as falsely sad look came into her eyes. "I'm just your shard detector." She mumbled so silently, Inuyasha barely heard, but suddenly, a new sensation came to her. The feel of razor sharp claws to her face, the feel of the cool night air on her now completely raw skin.

"I never want to hear you say that _ever_ again, alright Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded, Kagome, swore she saw his eyes flash red.

"I-Inu..yasha…" Kagome gulped, as she grasped the left side of her face, she hissed in pain.

"IS THAT CLEAR KAGOME?" Inuyasha growled loudly, his eyes bearing down on the raven haired girl.

The girl stared at the angry half demon glared at her. She was on the verge of breaking down into tears, but stood her ground. _'It's all a dream. Inuyasha wouldn't really strike you.'_ The girl tried to convince herself, but she felt her hand being soaked with blood. Without a second look back, Kagome broke into a sprint, trying to get as far away from Inuyasha as she could.

By the time Inuyasha took control of his temper, it was too late for him to stop the fleeing girl. Now, he was left with the sour scent of her blood on his claws, and the scent of her tears, her terribly salty tears, fresh in his senses.

Sobs of pain and uncertain betrayal filled the air of an almost eerily silent night. The sobs suddenly stopped, and the half demon knew she had fled to her own time. The time that was five hundred years in the future.

"Once again, I've lost you through that damned well." Inuyasha groaned, staring at his slightly red claws, guilt flushed over his body. _'But if it weren't for that damned well, I wouldn't have you, would I? Now you've left, I've been horrible, and I won't be able to get you back. Kagome, please… Come back soon…'_ "She won't, you bastard. You struck her. She trusted her life in you, and you struck her." He growled angrily at himself.

* * *

The morning sun peeked over the horizon, filling the sky with shades of reds, yellows, pinks and oranges. An almost perfect morning greeted the sleeping half breed, and Inuyasha growled. The morning proved to him that he had struck Kagome. He had sliced her face out of rage, and he feared, that she would never return. Sure, she was helpful in the search for the shards, but it was her company he more enjoyed. Inuyasha had refused to let him self fall in love again, but he had slowly fallen for the girl from the future without even noticing it. This fact was one that the half dog demon would ignore until the time was right, as well. The time would someday come, and both the human from the future and the dog demon of the past would be happy.

The sound of a certain demon slayer's hand to a certain monk's face sounded through the forest, causing the Inuyasha to completely wake up, and face the truth, and the irony, that Kagome probably wasn't coming back… ever.

"MONK! What'd you do this time?" He growled, the sorrow showed on his face.

"All I was doing was merely removing a leaf from Sango's hind quarters and she took it incorrectly." Miroku said, a smile of fake innocence shone from his face. Sango, however, was staring at Inuyasha.

"Where's Kagome?" She asked, and Inuyasha groaned sharply.

"Wench… went back to her own time." Inuyasha let out, though weakness shone through his eyes.

"Yes… Did she say when she was returning?" Sango asked feeling slightly distressed. She noticed that Inuyasha had his hands clutched tightly.

"No, she said she'd be back for a while. Big series of tests or whatever. Maybe this'll get her through that sk-ool thing and she'll be able to spend all of her time here." Inuyasha said, looking up into to sky, so he wouldn't have to look Sango or Miroku.

"Ah… I wanted to take a bath, but I see I'll have to wait." Sango said, shooting a sharp glare over at Miroku.

"I'll join you Sango." He said innocently. "I promise I won't look or touch anything." He said, but suddenly a grim smirk crawled across his face. "Unless you want me to…" He smirked, and Sango scowled at him.

"You wish, monk." She said slightly quieter than normal. "Let's head back to Kaede's. Miroku here got a nasty cut on his arm and I don't want to have to deal with him whining if it gets infected." Sango hissed, though she knew it was a lie.

"Fine…" Inuyasha sighed. Miroku, even though he had to be one of the biggest perverts of the land, had to know how lucky he was to have a girl that loved him who couldn't escape through the well. 'Loved him? What am I thinking…' Inuyasha mentally slapped himself, walking off to the village with the pair. They all formed a very mis-matched trio.

* * *

Kagome landed on the other side of the well, sinking to her knees, using the side of the well to hold her up. The young girl wept, still shocked.

"Inuyasha wouldn't… but he did. Inuyasha struck me." She whimpered out, letting her tears flow down her face.

Souta stood still outside of the well house, hearing his sister's sobs. He heard her words. 'How could I have looked up to Inuyasha when he hurt my sister like that…' He sighed, walking off. He didn't believe Kagome's words, and knew he couldn't be late for school.

A few moments later, Kagome had settled down, cleaned herself up, and built up the courage, as well as the lies, that she would have to have to face her mother. The cuts on her face were from a demon looking for the shards, and she and Inuyasha were fighting. It seemed perfect, though Kagome knew she'd never pull it off.

"Mom! I'm Home!" Kagome shouted happily, walking into the house, a very false smile on her face.

"Welcome home Kagome. I'll start a ba-" Kagome's mother started, but upon the sight of the claw marks on her face, she paused.

"Don't worry Mom. It's just a cut from a weak and harmless demon. I was on my way back and… Well… Inuyasha and I are fighting again." Kagome lied, and Kagome's mother sighed.

"Yes, yes, I'll prepare a bath for you. Have you gotten that cleaned?" She asked nervously, wondering if Inuyasha had really done that.

"Yes Mom. It's fine, believe me." Kagome lied, stumbling up the stairs. Guilt rushed over her body, but she knew it was for the best._ 'If Mom knew that Inuyasha struck me, which I don't believe myself, let alone enough to tell Mom what he did, she'd probably never let me see my friends again. Even though Inuyasha's… I wouldn't be able to go on with the knowledge that I won't ever see Shippo, Miroku, or Sango again.. I just need to calm down…_' Kagome pleaded with herself, feelings of guilt washing over her body.

Kagome sunk into the warm water of the clean white bath tub, and sighed in relaxation. She was afraid to get the cuts wet, but anxiety took over her as Kagome plunged her head under the water. The girl shot her head right out from beneath the murky water (from all the dirt that she had accumulated since her last bath), pain causing a spasm in the left portion of her face. Though she kept completely quiet through this entire process, the look of pain was unimaginable.

Around thirty minutes later, the girl crawled from the tub, which was now slightly brown at the bottom because of the dirt that had washed off from her. Kagome wrapped a fuzzy pink towel around her body, letting her hair hang down around her, framing her pale face perfectly. The wet waves dripped constantly for a few seconds, then slowed down. Kagome tied the towel, slipping on a pair of matching pink slippers, and walked to her room. _'I just need to think. Try and concentrate… wait. If Inuyasha…' _Kagome looked around, realizing what she had come to. _'Does that mean he has feelings for me? No… it couldn't be.'_ Kagome quickly closed the thought, thought it lingered like a fly buzzing around one's head constantly. _'Inuyasha was in love with Kikyo, but who knows who he loves now. I'm probably not going to find out any time soon, and that's that. No changing the past…'_ She sighed, in despair. She knew the future, however, was left up to her.

Kagome finally changed into pajamas, still not brushing her hair, and collapsed on her small bed. Buyo replied with a quick and to the point 'Muow' as the fat cat adjusted his sleeping position to the thin girl now sharing the bed with him.

Slowly, Kagome closed her eyes, drifting into an uneasy sleep. Inuyasha was all she could think about. _'Why had he struck me? Why didn't he want me saying I was his shard detector anymore, even if it's true? Or does he even keep me around because of that… Does he have feelings for me?'_

Kagome's eyes reached a complete shut, as she drifted off into a deep sleep, both her hands clutching the set of claw marks on her left cheek.

* * *

Yay! It's done. It's 10:43. Just thought you'd like to know that. Ironic much ? that in the fifth 'paragraph' that Inuyasha thinks of Kagome and Shippo first? Hehehehe… believe me that'll play out later in the story. Well I have a throat ache that could take down a rhino… or do they even have throats… O.O :Quiver in confusion: OR AM I EVEN SPELLING THROAT RIGHT:Stares at spell check: You say I am but I don't believe you… :Fumes: But… anyway… yeah… Please review. I'm going to be working on sprucing this up, and then I'll send it to my editor, and then I'll post it… That's pretty much the sequence of events. O.O :Slaps self: I'm too hyper. I swear those cough drops are drugged… 


	2. A New Route Home

She's back. And she's blah. That's right. I'm feelin' rather passive… but I'm in a holiday happy mood because I just hid and wrapped presents. YAY! Alright. I think I'll have the rape either this chapter or next… Next probably. Who knows. ME! Hahaha… yeah. I'm a little crazy. Buckle ye seatbelts kiddies. We're going to have a BuMpY ride. HAH!

Disclaimer: No Kirara plushie for Manda. Makes her sad. u.u Now I own nothing of Inuyasha. Accept for a bunch of tapes with rather random numbers of episodes Inuyasha… YAY!

* * *

Three days had passed since Kagome had mysteriously disappeared into her own Era, the Era of the Millennium. Sango sat silently, stroking silently the fur of her small fire cat. Kirara 'poi'ed in unhappiness, and Shippo sat silently. The group was incomplete without Kagome, and everyone knew it, especially since Inuyasha was always away when she was gone. It was just too, in a way, too quiet.

"Miroku?" Sango asked quietly, her chocolate brown eyes met Miroku's almost velvety violet ones.

"Yes Sango?" He asked, staring truthfully at her. This was going to be a conversation about Kagome that would end in a very unhappy way, he could already _feel_ it.

"What… do you think Inuyasha did? He says she left to take tests, but that can't be true. She would have said 'Good-bye' at least, or even just informed. That, and Inuyasha wouldn't be so cranky. He's always… blah when she's gone, but how he's acting right now is just downright weird." She stated, and Miroku sighed deeply.

"Inuyasha… Inuyasha loves Kagome. You and I both see that, but Kagome… Kagome doesn't believe it enough to realize what's right in front of her. And I doubt Inuyasha will let his guard down enough to tell her. He's changed since I met him… Kagome somehow squirmed into his life and softened him… only to a point, though. But he messed up, and she's insecure. Damn… I wish one of us could go and get her. Inuyasha won't budge from his decision to let her come back on her own, and I fear that she _won't_ come back without being convinced that Inuyasha didn't mean what he did." Miroku choked out, choosing his words carefully. One wrong move and Sango would believe he was at his lecherous ways again.

"Are you sure that he messed up _that_ bad? I mean, Kagome's insecure, and still isn't used to how our demon friend acts… it's not in her culture." Sango asked, her eyes filling with tears. She hoped to the Gods that Miroku wouldn't ruin this perfectly innocent conversation.

"Believe me, even when Inuyasha messes up, she sits him and leaves. If he had done something small, he'd be complaining about the sits, and about how the 'wench' always leaves when he wanted to search for the shards. Have _you_ heard a word of that yet?" Miroku asked, and Kirara jumped up, hissing.

"Kirara? What's wrong?" Sango asked, looking at the door.

* * *

Kagome's friends had reminisced about the marks on her face for three days now, and she was getting tired of it.

"Guys, I tell you, I broke a glass. I know, odd that the marks are in a certain patter, BUT IT'S MERE QUINCIDENCE!" Kagome said loudly, trying to make her point.

"We know, we know, but it's odd. They almost look like _claw_ marks." Yuka gasped out in realization, Kagome's face sunk.

"Now who do we know with claws? Animals wouldn't be that smart…" Eri wondered aloud to herself, and Kagome grew red with anger.

"NO HUMAN HAS CLAWS ALRIGHT! IT WAS GLASS! NOW LAY OFF!" Kagome screeched angrily, but sadly also truthfully. She wouldn't accept that Inuyasha was human, he was half-demon. She had wanted to keep Inuyasha out of her mind, but her friends weren't letting her. They just weren't.

The bell rang, announcing that the school day was over, and Kagome was more than 'very thankful' for that. She walked a very different route home, one that she knew no one would travel. One that she knew would be _quiet_. She had had a terrible day, but putting up with the fuss of her friends over the claw marks on her face had been by far the worst.

The sounds and smells of Tokyo had practically disappeared from around Kagome as she walked down the dimly lit ally way. The air was cool and crisp, and all that could be heard was the distant shouts and honks of impatient drivers. The ally reminded her, almost exactly, of the Feudal Era, and all its sorrows and joys.

"Finally, time alone. I can think." Kagome said aloud to herself, fixating on the issue of Inuyasha.

'_They didn't mean to remind me of Inuyasha , but they did. My friends don't even know he exists, yet I can't get him out of my mind. Why is this haunting me?' _Kagome let out a deep sigh of distress, closing her eyes while walking momentarily. Bringing her hand slowly up to her face, she cringed at the pain of even the lightest touch brought. _'I've admitted I love Inuyasha to myself, so why is this haunting me so? If only I hadn't followed Buyo into the well house… Everything would be much better. I'd have a steady relationship, friends, a future…' _Kagome stopped herself dead in her tracks.

"You have all of those." She whispered, tears dripping from her face. _'All of them in the Feudal Era.' _She would go back at the end of the week. "Then, I won't have to come back for school, summer will be in session, and Inu… no one will be able to whine bout my having to come back." Kagome smiled to herself, reaching the end of the ally. She knew she'd have to take that path much more often, as she reached the back entrance of the shrine.

"MEW!" A small white kitten mewed at Kagome, causing her to smile and bend down to pet the kitten. "Mew…" The kitten cried again, Kagome smiled even more.

"You remind me of my friend's kitty. Do you know… of course you don't." Kagome sighed. _'Kirara's 500 years back, probably laying happily in Sango's arms. Me? I'm sitting here talking to a cat. I'M TALKING TO A CAT! MY GOD I'M TALKING TO A CAT!'_ Kagome screeched at herself silently, sighing unhappily. She missed Sango, Kirara, Miroku and Shippo already. She missed Inuyasha the most, but wouldn't allow herself to think of that. _'Not after what he did. I don't know him anymore, the Inuyasha I knew wouldn't strike me.'_

Kagome entered the house slowly, shutting the door behind her, collapsing on the long blue couch. She didn't bother remove the cat from under her, Kagome knew that Buyo would move just in time, which he did.

"MOM! I'M HOME! I'M GONNA TAKE A NAP BEFORE I START ON HOMEWORK!" She shouted to her mother, who was in the kitchen before trudging up the stairs.

The bed practically became one with Kagome, as she fell asleep almost instantly, trying to avoid putting pressure on the left side of her face.

* * *

Kagome's mother sighed, sitting down at the table, sipping on a cup of green tea politely.

"Dad, Kagome's been very withdrawn. Something happened between her and Inuyasha. Something big." She sighed, taking a large drink before averting her eyes to her father, a man with many grey hairs, wearing shrine robes.

"It's because of that demon. He's got no control of the demon blood, and you and I both know that. We've had this conversation before, dear. This is why…" The old man sighed deeply before his grandson came bounding into the room.

"Hi Mom! Hi Gramps! How was your guys' day? Mine was great, but I have a lot of homework so I've got to go. Bye!" He said, not pausing for a single breath, and not stopping to acknowledge either of them, just catching their eyes with his own before running up the stairs and shutting the door of his room.

"Yeah… sure…" The man said, slightly shaken up by the boy's quick run through.

"Inuyasha is a great bo… man. He's taken care of Kagome God knows how many times, and he'll continue for God only knows however much longer. Now Souta will be wanting food before his soccer game, I'll get it started. You can go watch TV or something dad." She said shyly, starting towards the door slowly. The old man just sighed deeply, going back to reading the newspaper.

Kagome's mom's mind was racing. Inuyasha wouldn't hurt her daughter… would he? She could push the subject onto Kagome, but she knew that wouldn't work. _'No one talks under that pressure.'_ She thought, having fond memories of how her father had forced her to tell him what happened _many_ times when she was younger.

* * *

I know. OOC. My story though, and if you don't like it, tough. PLEASE REVIEW! Even if it's putting down the OOC ness, I want reviews! Whines 


	3. I'm Home

ITS CHRISTMAS BREAK! YAY! HAPPY! I have a bloody nose, but still I write. Do you feel lucky/special? You should. :Nods: Alright, I feel better. If I don't chicken out, the rape'll be in this chapter. But this might be a 'Feudal Era Reflection' Chapter. I dunno. We'll see. ON WITH THE SHOW!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. I'm not in French. The world now falls apart.

* * *

Inuyasha sat quietly on the branch of the tree, staring out across the horizon. He wasn't really thinking, just… being. This was always how he was when Kagome was gone, and he'd remain like this until she returned. He had gained confidence enough to believe that she would come back, even if it was just to say an eternal goodbye to Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kaede and Kirara.

Finally, the stubborn half demon forced his mind to the girl of the future. _'She's become my life, yet… I don't know what came over me. This'll require one hell of an apology…'_ He sighed, figuring out what he'd have to do. After a week, he'd go to get her, and he'd bring her back. Not for him, but for all the others. He knew their distress as well, though his was much worse. Inuyasha sighed, pulling out the small Cresent Moon shaped pendant from his pocket.

"It's her scent that I miss so much." He lied to himself. "She reminds me… of my mother…" He sighed, twirling the pendant in his fingers before letting it catch its last glimmer of sunlight, slipping it back into his pocket.

* * *

Kagome had decided to sleep in and miss school the second the alarm clock had went off with a loud 'Beep! Beep! Beep!'. She finished up a few assignments over what would have been her lunch break, and then decided on a walk, even though she felt like she had been hit by a truck.

"Kagome, be safe. I have a bad feeling." The old man sighed, pulling out many thin sheets of paper. "You're developing priestess powers, so you should be able to use these soutras. Use them as last resort, but you may use them if you fall into deep trouble." Gramps smiled, proudly handing his granddaughter the thin sheets.

"Gee… thanks Gramps." Kagome smiled flakey, shoving the soutras into her pocket. She looked over at her mother, who looked uneasy, and walked out the door.

The scents and sounds normally associated with a city greeted Kagome as she stepped outside. The air was slightly musty and thick, though everything was clear and bright. She headed toward the small ally way, hoping the small kitten was there again. The cat had reminded her of Kirara, which reminded her of Sango, who, without Inuyasha's restraint, would have killed Miroku a long time ago. _'Inuyasha.'_ She thought with a dry sigh, and happily looked down the ally. The air, once again, was clean and crisp, but had a heavy feeling.

A figure shifted quickly in the ally, and Kagome quickly decided she shouldn't have started into the dark passage, but she had. A breeze flew past her neck, giving her the chills. A terrible feeling took over her body as she looked around shyly, walking slight quicker towards the end of the ally, which led into a main street of Tokyo with rushing cars. _'Just have to get to the street!'_ Kagome thought, as she started running, but she collided with something warm and soft.

Kagome shrieked in surprise, then looked up to see an unfamiliar face, which caused a flat out scream of fear. The man who looked to be about 6'4, placed a hand over Kagome's mouth to hush her, not wanting to attract police or other innocent citizens. He looked down and studied her, from head to toe.

"Well well well, you're a pretty little one, now aren't you?" He smirked, his green eyes glimmered in a small stream of light in the ally. His hair was to his shoulders but pulled up in a pony tail, one like Miroku had, but much longer. His skin was pale, and Kagome swore she saw fangs in his mouth, but with a second look, they were normal. "'Gonna answer me, pretty one?" He asked, a voice that seemed a mix between the charm of Koga's voice, and the deep, cold, heartless tone of Naraku.

"W-what do you think you're doing?" Kagome gasped out, trying to struggle from his grasp, but it just tightened over her wrists.

The man only smiled widely, letting Kagome capture a sure glimpse of fangs. The man took a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed the slightly damp cloth over Kagome's mouth, finally allowing her to scream…

A few moments later, Kagome lay in the back of a car, the same man that had drugged her was laying on top of her, pounding himself into Kagome. He was having his fun, alright, but it was horror to Kagome. She tried to move, but the drugs had been more powerful than the girl could have ever expected. Kagome was having trouble breathing, she was so paralyzed. This was all so unfair, this completely random man was stealing everything she had worked to protect in innocent minutes while Kagome was left helpless.

The man's sweaty body lifted over Kagome, and thrusted once again into her, but this time, Kagome felt the pain. If she could have moved, she would have shrieked in pain, but all that escaped with a low toned groan. _'Inuyasha, save me.'_ Was the only thing she could think, but she knew that wouldn't happen. Inuyasha was in the Feudal Era right now, probably whining about not having her there, whining over having lost his Shard Detector for a few days. If only she had gone back to the Feudal Era… she wouldn't be enduring such a painfully mortifying experience.

But did Inuyasha even care? Of course he enjoyed having her around, she and anyone, and everyone, else saw that, but he had struck her. Her trust barely existed in Inuyasha even more, but it was there. She wanted to be able to get away from this all to go even stand near Inuyasha. She would feel better near him. He would most defiantly protect her from the hell she was going through if he had any idea…or would he?

All of this thinking was making Kagome feel useless. She was useless, and dirty. No one cared for her, and that was why she was being so painfully violated at this very second. She wanted to cry out, but all she could do was groan and moan in pain. The man squeezed her breasts forcefully, as she finally noticed the restraints that were slicing into her pale and delicate skin. Nothing was right at all, how could no one else see that?

Finally, after the man had had his sick and twisted fun, he shoved Kagome out of the side of the car, throwing her clothes at her before speeding off. Kagome lay there, naked, and in immense pain. Kagome wanted to cry, but wouldn't. She'd go home, and get her things. Then, she'd go to the Feudal Era.

* * *

Inuyasha sighed, walking back to Kaede's hut. He felt terrible, this small burning sensation in the pit of his stomach would not go away. His first thought had been _'Something's wrong with Kagome!'_, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to have that strong a bond with her.

"S'probably just some stomach bug." He told himself, though he felt very unsure. The half demon peaked his head into the hut slowly, then walked in and collapsed on the small bedroll.

"Sango, I'm sick." He whined, and the demon slayer laughed whole heartedly.

"Since when does the great Inuyasha get sick?" She choked out through her laughs, but Inuyasha was serious.

"He just misses Kagome." Shippo coaxed, feeling lucky that Inuyasha wasn't in the mood to chase him. All he received was an angry scowl and a growl from Inuyasha. "…Maybe not. He would have tried to kill me by now if he weren't sick…" Shippo started, and Kaede laughed, entering the hut with a basket full of herbs.

"Damn it, I'm sick, now give me medicine or be quiet so I can lay down!" Inuyasha shouted, walking towards the small futon without noticing the entrance of Kaede.

"Here, Inuyasha, ye may have something that is going around the village. Ye must boil these, then drink the waters that ye boiled them in. I'll be off to help others that have fallen sick." Kaede said, smiling and handing Inuyasha what looked like a turnip, then walked back out of the hut. Sango and Shippo both fell victim to terrible laughing fits as Inuyasha examined the turnip like object.

"Sango, what is this thing?" He asked, looking at the red faced demon slayer, who finally settled herself down enough to speak.

"You want me to do that for you?" She asked, smirking evilly. The half demon simply nodded and coughed, handing her the herb.

A few moments, Sango had poured the warm water into a small cup, handing it to Inuyasha, who thankfully drank the liquid with a smug grin on his face.

"This stuff isn't so bad…" Inuyasha said, but his eyes widened as a battered Kagome appeared in the door frame, tears in her eyes, and the claw marks that Inuyasha had once inflicted were now bleeding again, and the strong scent of Kagome's innocent blood flooded him finally. She smelt.. afraid? Inuyasha was now afraid for her. _I..I can never smell emotions unless they're terribly strong..what the hell is going on with Kagome? _The hanyou thought quickly, before leaping up.

"KAGOME?" He asked, as the girl just stared in an odd, thankful fear. She was with the people that would protect her, people that she could trust. _'I'm home.'_ She thought, and at that, she fell to the floor, unconscious.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha shouted, dropping the wooden cup, causing its contents to spill all over the floor as he dove to the girl's side. "Kagome, what's happened to you?" He asked, staring down upon her.

* * *

Wow… that was short. TALK ABOUT A CLIFFY! But you all know what happened to her… but still. Oke doke. This is a late Christmas Present. I'm very sorry that this chapter took so long. I'm going to start working on the next one Immediately. Thanks the… two reviews. Until we meet again, GOOD BYE! 


	4. Finding Out

I'm back. I scared the living crap out of myself, but I'm back. And my music's not working. Darn. And I'm picking up RIGHT where I left off. Meep-ah.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. You can't sue me. HAH!

Inuyasha does a little bit of cussing… actually a LOT bit…

* * *

Sango darted over to Kagome, who was now in the arms of a scowling half demon. He took a long, deep sniff, and growled.

'_Some bastard took advantage of her.'_ He growled in his head, but kept quiet about it as he brought Kagome over to the futon. Sango stood quietly, a worried look came to her eyes. She didn't have any idea what had happened to Kagome, because, according to Kagome and Inuyasha, there were no demons in the future.

"We have to get her help." She said, but Inuyasha let out a faint yet angry laugh.

"You think I don't know that?" Inuyasha growled, taking a deep breath. _'This is no time for Sango to be treating me like a child..'_ "I'd like to know what kind of monster would do this to her, God damnit." He growled, not noticing how protective he was being. He immediately began cleaning the claw marks, attempting to bandage them while Sango stared in awe.

"Inuyasha… those look like…" She whimpered, staring at him.

"Sango, we have other things we need to address. If you really need to, we'll talk about it later. She's in trouble and in pain. We need to help Kagome." Inuyasha said, finishing the girl's face, moving down to her arms. The shirt was torn terribly, and was practically useless, but Inuyasha didn't really care. He needed to get Kagome warm, cleaned up, and comfortable.

Inuyasha sat there, battling his demon blood to the best of his ability, even with Tetsuiaga right at his side. _Why the hell is my demon blood acting up? I'm not hurt.. _Inuyasha groaned, looking at his torn up mate. _Mate? She's not my… oh. That's why I.. _Inuyasha growled loudly at himself, taking off his outer kimono, throwing it at Sango, staring at Kagome.

"Inuyasha.. do you want me to take care of her?" Sango asked quietly, looking at the kimono, in her hands. Though it was very rough and tattered, it was very soft, and seemed as if it would be warm were she to put it on.

"What the fuck do you think? I'm going to find the old bat, wherever the fuck she went. Kagome needs help now. And if the lecher comes in, and lays a single finger on Kagome, I'll fucking kill him." Inuyasha spat out as a warming, before storming out into the village.

* * *

A few moments later, Inuyasha stormed up to Inuyasha and Kaede, who were treating a young woman and her husband's injuries that they had most likely received in the fields. Miroku absently looked back at a furious looking hanyou, whose eyes were every so often flashing red, but this was controlled.

"Inuyasha? What's going on?" Miroku asked, looking at the obviously pissed hanyou, who was looking flustered and out of breath.

"Damnit, monk, old woman, get back to the hut now. Kagome." He said angrily as the man and woman sat, blinking, and completely unaware of what the hanyou that they, as well as the rest of the village, had learned to trust and saw as their protector.

"Inuyasha, what on earth are ye talking of?" Kaede asked, sitting down a bowl of stew that the injured woman had fixed for her, Miroku and her husband.

"Damnit, Kaede, come on. There isn't any time to waist." He growled viciously, his eyes staying red for a few moments, but then they returned to their normal hanyou state. This was one time that Inuyasha was NOT to be messed with.

"Yes..of course.." Kaede said quietly, and bowed softly to the couple before following Inuyasha.

"Old woman, get on." Inuyasha ordered, crouching down so that Kaede would climb onto his back. The faster they got to Kagome, the better off she would be, he thought in his head. Miroku quickly thanked the couple, bowing softly, and apologizing for the scene that his hanyou friend had just caused, promising their return in the future before rushing off after Inuyasha.

* * *

Inuyasha dropped Kaede from his back softly after three touches to the ground of his feet, and rushed the woman into the hut, where Sango was finishing wrapping Kagome's chest, which was scratched and bruised, in bandages. Sango looked sorrowfully up at Kaede, whose eyes widened.

"Who did this to the child?" She asked, staring at Kagome, rushing over to start some herbs boiling.

"A bastard that's going to pay, that's who." Inuyasha growled, storming out of the room, passing Miroku on his clear path to the forest, and eventually his auto-pioleted path to the god tree.

"Inuyasha? What on earth was that interruption?" Miroku asked, almost stiffly, and Inuyasha only growled.

"You'll see when you get back to the hut. Monk, if I find out you layed even a _single_ finger on Kagome while she's in this condition, I swear to the Gods, I will kill you. That is not a threat, monk." He said, collecting the scared look on Miroku's face as only a promice. "That is a promise. Lay off of Sango as well while she is taking care of kagome. Afterwards, I have no care what you do. Just let Kagome get whatever she needs." He growled loudly, storming off into the forest for rest, knowing that the others would take care of Kagome.

* * *

Inuyasha sat dormant in the tree late into the night, letting the anger rush out of his body. He knew he had feelings for Kagome, but had just now realized how strong they were. _'Damned bastard… hurt Kagome… I'll go to the future and kill the damned fucker, make him suffer…' _Inuyasha thought angrily, moon which was low in the sky.

"FUCK!" He shouted, jumping down from the tree and racing off to the village. He was just now remembering what he had told Sango, and sighed to himself, jumping up into the night sky. Finally arriving at the hut with about an hour left until sunrise, Inuyasha moved the mat from the door to see Sango staring off into space.

"Sango." He whispered softly, smirking smugly at arriving in time. The girl snapped out of the blank stare, and looked up at Inuyasha, worry shone from her eyes.

"Come with me." She mouthed, standing up and leading the now dazed half demon out of the hut. Inuyasha stared at her helplessly before following, but had to jog slightly to catch the side of the demon slayer.

"You need to stay near her until she wakes up." She said, but stopped, then turned to Inuyasha. "She's been whispering your name and screaming all night. Why didn't you tell us where you were going!" She hissed out, glaring holes through the silver haired and dog eared man, whose eyes widened very noticably.

"I … I didn't know that she was going to need me..." Inuyasha growled. "I'm going in to see her. Even if she's not awake." Inuyasha growled, almost sprinting back to the hut. 'Damn that mother fucker to hell… when I get done with him he'll wish he never laid eyes on her face…' Inuyasha snarled silently, approaching the hut. Taking a quick seat by Kagome, he laid his hand down on her forehead, absentmindedly stroking her hair.

"Inuyasha." She whispered, her huge chocolate eyes stared up at him, and Inuyasha smiled.

"You ok?" He asked dumbly, and sighed at the answer of certain pain and worry in the look of Kagome's eyes.

"I…" Kagome sighed, wrapping her arms softly around his stomach. "No, I'm not." She whispered silently, as Inuyasha gave in and wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling the girl's small frame into his lap.

"It's ok Kagome..don't worry. I'm here." He whispered silently, stroking her hair softly, breathing down her neck which was causing Kagome shivers. She felt safe and warm in Inuyasha's arms, but most of all, she felt happy.

* * *

And that's all. Wow… that went by really fast Tell me what you think. I'm not in a very talkative mood, so I'll make this short and sweet. But, before I go, I must say, that the next chapter won't be so heavy… and… yeah. That's all.

Amanda

Kagome's Twin: I know, I know, I'm not a real big lemon lover. There's going to be another lemon in the story I promise . and I'll be more detailed about it. I'm being really secretive about the rapist… you'll figure it out soon enough. And… MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Trauma is fun. Thanks for reading! And other people aren't reading it because… I dunno.


	5. What's Going On?

Oh my.. I'm very sorry this update took so long. I had finished this a couple weeks back, but then while I was trying to open it to go over it once more, I deleted all of my fan fiction. ALL OF IT. So I got very angry, and tried to get it back for a while, then just gave up. Then my friend and I started RPing again, which we haven't done in forever, which further delayed me from writing. But I'm back, and I'm going to write this as fast as possible without making it sound terrible. Once again, deepest apologies for the wait.

* * *

Kagome's eyes opened distinctly, looking around. No one was in the small hut, and she was all alone. She wanted to cry, but still wouldn't let herself. Inuyasha's muffled shouts at Miroku were heard outside, and Sango was screaming too, but in whose defense, Kagome didn't know.

She sighed, breathing deeply, smiling. The air was so fresh, a lot fresher than in the ally. She didn't even know how she could have ever mistaken the scent of the ally which had caused her so much pain to be as great as the one that gave her comfort in the Feudal Era.

Shippo walked quietly into the hut, chuckling to himself, then launched himself at Kagome, seeing that she was awake.

"GOOD MORNING!" He shouted, and Kagome smiled, hugging him back.

"Good morning, Shippo." She smiled sweetly, standing up slowly, and walking outside to see Inuyasha stuck in his place, a prayer soutra stuck to his forehead. "Miroku, what'd he do this time.." Kagome asked dully, and Inuyasha's eyes shot over to her.

"KAGOME! GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!" He shouted, angrily looking around, and Sango started laughing.

"He tried to lie to Sango about me spying on her at the Hot Springs, which, this time, I actually didn't do." Miroku said calmly, fearing for his life when the soutra was removed. Sango and Kagome laughed loudly, while Shippo stared in awe at Inuyasha from Kagome's arms.

"You can't move!" The young fox shouted, giggling as Kagome let him down, and running to jump on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Don't you even dare runt.." Inuyasha growled, trying to get the soutra off of himself, but unable to.

"Fine Inuyasha.." Shippo said, stopping, and walked back over to Kagome.

Sango smiled at Inuyasha, loving to see him this helpless, but knew that Kagome would soon feel bad for him, and take the soutra off, at which time, the poor perverted monk's life would be in dire trouble.

"Kagome..please take this thing off of me." Inuyasha said quietly, embarrassed that he had asked so kindly, and Kagome nodded, and walked up, ripping the soutra off. Inuyasha growled loudly at Miroku, who whimpered, running off in the opposite direction immediately.

"MONK!" Inuyasha shouted, angrily, shooting after him, but only to be immediately shot down by Kagome.

"INUYASHA! SIT BOY!" She screamed, angrily trotting over to the place where he was lodged into the earth. "He was merely defending himself, and you do what?" She hissed angrily, glaring at him, Sango laughing loudly in the background.

"Feh, leave me alone wench." Inuyasha growled up at her, but stopped immediately, seeing the expression of fear on her face.

* * *

A few hours later, Miroku returned, cautiously peeking his head into the hut to be greeted by the growl of Inuyasha, as Kagome shoved him softly.

"Inuyasha, don't." She said sternly, taking another bite of rice. The half demon shrugged, slumping against the wall, as Miroku walked cautiously into the hut, sitting by Sango.

"Well, while I was on my mad run away from Inuyasha, I heard a few rumors of shards. There's supposedly a very strong oni demon due south of here. I thought you guys might want to check it out." He said loudly, smirking. Not often did the monk bring back information pertaining to the Shikon Jewel, and right now, he was proud.

"Sure. We're leaving early." Inuyasha said strictly, as everyone winced at his expression, and went back to their rice.

Kagome finished her bowl quickly, handing it to Kaede gratefully, thanking her quietly, and rolling her sleeping bag out, crawling into it and smiling.

"Good night everyone." She said as Shippo finished his bowl of rice and scampered over to her, curling up near her stomach.

"Good night Kagome." Miroku and Sango said simultaneously, then looked at each other, awkwardly.

"Night, wench." Inuyasha said, staring happily down on her. She seemed back to normal…or at least to him.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome awoke to bouncing up and down and screamed softly, seeing how high off the ground she was, but finally realized that she was riding on Inuyasha's back.

"'Bout time, wench!" Inuyasha shouted loudly, looking over his shoulder, holding onto Kagome tightly, running through the forest. "I've been smelling stench of Naraku all morning, and we got sick of waiting."

"YOU, Inuyasha, got sick of waiting. We just complied." Miroku shouted from the back of Kirara, sitting behind Sango, holding tightly onto his staff.

"Whoa.." She winced, looking around. "There's a bunch of shards." She said quietly, as if only to Inuyasha, still half asleep and leaning onto his back. Kirara roared loudly, pulling to a halt, as Inuyasha collided into a barrier, glowing deep purple, landing barely on his feet on the ground below.

"What the.." Inuyasha said quietly, and Kagome's eyes widened. There, in front of them, stood a Kikyo, covered in blood, her arrow pulled tightly on her bow, aimed carefully at Kagome's head.

"Kikyo?" Kagome said quietly, quickly getting off of Inuyasha's back, separating herself from him, or at least trying. Inuyasha stepped protectively in front of Kagome, glaring at Kikyo.

"What's going on?!" He shouted, glaring angrily at Kikyo, completely bewildered.

* * *

And she updates. Once again, very sorry. This'll be edited and posted ASAP!

Amanda


	6. His Failed Attempt

Ah..it's good to be back. Maybe this one will be faster than the others!...maybe. So I'll try and hurry with this one. My apology still holds, but all I have is one more normal basketball game (No more practice, last one was today, which I did not attend x.x) and the big fat tournament of death…championships. Please shoot me now. Anyways…on with the story. I realized I forgot my disclaimer last time, so here's the permanent disclaimer.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, so please don't sue this poor little girl...

* * *

Kikyo glared deviously at Kagome, smiling. Kagome winced at Kikyo, but Inuyasha stood strong as the strong noon sun shone overhead, a soft breeze blew between the three.

"Inuyasha, are you ready to come to hell with me? In hell you will be happy, you won't have to protect the whore that hides behind you." Kikyo said harshly, smiling. "I could even get rid of her for you." She hissed, smiling at Inuyasha, slowly stepping forward towards him.

"I…No Kikyo." Inuyasha said angrily, shoving Kagome back slightly, drawing his Tetsusiaga, as it transformed quickly. "I can't come to hell with you, Kikyo." He said quietly, looking at her, stepping forward.

Kagome's eyes grew, with both shock and happiness, as she stepped back, looking for something to lean onto. Finally she stumbled into a tree, staring at what was happening before her. To her, Inuyasha refusing to be with Kikyo now, or ever, was a huge step forward for her.

"You've fallen in love with my reincarnation!" Kikyo shouted angrily, letting an arrow fly at Inuyasha, but he easily deflected it with the Tetsusiaga, looking at Kikyo sorrowfully.

"Kikyo, you're not alive. All I want is for you to be able to rest in peace, like you had for fifty years before.." He sighed, looking at Kagome hopefully, then looking back towards Kikyo. "Kikyo, I'm not about to give up everything I've worked for. I'm not going to suffer like Naraku should. I want Kagome to have her entire soul." He said quietly, grasping the Tetsusiaga tightly, as Kikyo, as well as Kagome, stood staring in disbelief.

"Inuyasha, YOU LOVE ME!" Kikyo screamed, and Inuyasha laughed stiffly. Kagome felt tears coming to her eyes, for once feeling bad for Kikyo. She loved Inuyasha, but he no longer loved her.

"I'm sorry you had to die for me once Kikyo." He said quietly, pulling the Tetsusiaga over his head easily, and sighed. "And as much as I hate it, you're going to have to do it again. I'm so sorry, Kikyo." He said quietly, releasing a wind scar in Kikyo's direction, as Kagome had to hold tightly to the tree to keep from falling over.

Inuyasha's eyes widened at what he had just done, staring blankly at the crater that the wind scar had provided. Usually, his wind scar created multiple cracks in the earth, but now, it was directed for one thing. The wind scar had been directed towards Kikyo, so that she could finally rest in peace.

"Inuyasha, you'll be sorry for what you've done." Kikyo's cold voice hissed from above Kagome and Inuyasha, as her soul stealers carried her away quickly. Inuyasha's heart sunk sadly, as he sighed, looking back at Kagome.

"C'mon. Let's get going." Inuyasha said grumpily, motioning for her to get on his back, but Kagome just stood there, staring at him.

"You don't want to go to hell with Kikyo?" She asked dumbly, staring at him, almost looking afraid. Inuyasha laughed fakely, staring at Kagome.

"No." He said solemnly, looking at Kagome. _'Damnit… tell her!' _Inuyasha shouted at himself, his mouth hanging open, but he was unable to say anything. _'Anything… say ANYTHING…'_ "We really should get going." Inuyasha choked out, then rolled his eyes at himself, crouching down for Kagome to get on his back, as Kagome slowly walked over, crawling onto his back.

"Yeah… Where's Sango and Miroku?" Kagome asked quietly, holding tightly to Inuyasha as not to fall as he leapt through the air, then both of them spotted a blue force field about a mile out from them. Kagome sighed, and shook her head. "My question's been answered." She said quietly, closing her eyes, leaning her head onto Inuyasha's shoulder, her face seemed to show an at ease side of Kagome, but in her mind, she was the furthest thing from "at ease".

'_He's chosen me… he might not EVER say it to my face, but he's chosen me…' _Kagome told her self in complete disbelief. Inuyasha leapt higher into the sky, the sun's soft rays heating Kagome's face softly. Kirara roared, looking down, as another large force field appeared, and Inuyasha halted to a quick stop as he stood on the ground, staring.

"We should rest a while, Inuyasha. This is going to be a big battle for ALL of us." Miroku said quietly as he crawled off of Kirara's back, though Sango still sat, staring at Kagome.

"Yeah, yeah." Inuyasha said almost angrily, rolling his eyes. Kagome's eyes brightened as she got off of Inuyasha's back, looking over at Sango.

"Sango, do you want to go take a bath? I saw a hot spring not too far ago…it won't take too long on foot." She said, smiling at Sango, who nodded violently, crawling off of Kirara finally. "Inuyasha," Kagome said, looking up at him softly, her eyes shone with her confusion. "Make sure Miroku doesn't spy on us." She said, taking her bag, and walking off next to Sango.

As soon as the girls were out of site, Miroku's eyes lit up, and a lecherous grin crossed his face quickly.

"You told her you loved her, didn't you?" He asked, almost bouncing with happiness.

"Far from it, letch. I just…" Inuyasha sighed, looking away. "I'll tell you what I did when I'm damn ready." Inuyasha growled, popping his knuckles.

"Did you get rid of Kikyo, then?" Miroku asked, looking up at Inuyasha, now sitting down against a tree.

"DAMNIT MONK! I SAID I WASN'T GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Inuyasha growled, jumping up into a lush tree, leaning against a branch. The half demon reached within his inner kimono, pulling out a picture, and smiled at it. The picture was of all of the group, everyone seemed oddly happy that day. Kagome sat on the floor of Kaede's hut, and not far from her sat Inuyasha, who was glaring at Shippo. Miroku's hand was wandering its way towards Sango's butt, but she hadn't noticed, and was talking to Shippo.

"Kaede took that picture, did she not?" Miroku asked from the ground, now leaning against the tree, looking up at him.

"Yeah.. I remember that day like it were yesterday, too." Inuyasha said dreamily, smiling at the picture. It still smelt like Kagome, which comforted him. Inuyasha had admitted this to himself thousands of times before actually understanding the fact that he loved her, he had admitted that her scent was the one thing that he enjoyed most in the entire world.

From below him Miroku laughed softly, happy to see his friend so content. _'Inuyasha's mood has improved so much..'_ the monk thought, closing his eyes, drifting off into a very light sleep, his left hand clutching the prayer beads that adjourned his right.

* * *

Yeah, That's right, I'm done. I'm half exhausted, half hyper as heck, and half happy that my camera's back. Dad got home today, and he brought with him a WHOLE butt load of stuff, and my camera. I'm so happy. I'm going to try and get the next update soon, but I always end up writing half, waiting another week, and then writing the other half. I'm so sorry you guys…

Amanda


	7. I Took This

Hello! Wow, I'm risky. I'm typing this with my parents in broad view. Oh well. I've been DIEING to write on this fiction. I've written on paper (Which is out of the ordinary for me, because I personally hate my hand writing, and I hate pencils. Don't ask me why. I just...do.) URGENT NEWS: I got bangs. . They make me happy. Alright, on with the story.

* * *

Kagome smiled as she slowly sunk into the warm waters of the hot spring. It was a cool, clean day and there wasn't a single cloud in the bright blue sky. The warm water was working it's miracles on Kagome's bruised private parts and sore thighs, which she had kept hidden with extra precaution, knowing that Sango must've already known, but still didn't want anything to seem obvious. 

Kagome sighed stiffly at the thought of even crying about what happened that terrible day, then decided that she'd have to face her tears one day. 'Maybe to Inuyasha. He might actually understand, with all that's happened with Kikyo. Maybe someday. Inuyasha...' She thought absently as a splash of warmth hit her face and she jumped back to reality.

"Kagome? You alive? Feudal Era to Kagome Higurashi..." Sango said, chuckling, but also worried for her friend.

"Oh...sorry." Kagome said quietly with a forced chuckle. "I was just thinking..."

"Are you feeling any better? You seemed pretty...sick when you got back from your time. Why didn't you get medicine there?" Sango asked stupidly as Kagome froze completely, her eyes adverting from her best friend and practically her sister.

"Well, my mom and I got into a HUGE argument. I didn't want to even look at her..." Kagome said quietly, putting on her best poker face, trying to make up more of the story ahead of time. She had expected this, but had only come up with the two sentences that she had so carelessly spat out.

"Oh... I'm sorry.." Sango offered, with true sympathy as she too looked away, but the young slayer looked down into murky waters of the warm spring.

Kagome, wanting to escape any further questioning, dunked her head under the warm water, staying under for a few seconds before returning to the surface, wrapping herself in the two towels.

"I'm a little tired, so I think I'm just going to head back. There's two towels under the tree, if you want them." Kagome said quietly, slipping on her clothes, tieing her hair up in a 'turban' with the towel, heaving the other over her shoulder.

"Alright..." Sango said quietly, watching Kagome walk back to Inuyasha, no doubt.

Kagome walked quietly, thinking that this would be a time, and night, to gather her thoughts, and sighed loudly. She wanted to talk to Inuyasha, and not with everyone else surrounding them, either. Kagome just wanted to be with him, to take in his company, and his company alone. She sighed as she heard the loud screech of a hysterical monk, and the laugh of a small fox demon. She shook her head and sighed, walking over to the group, who seemed to be gathered at the god tree, as Inuyasha sat, helpless to a…. Sneezing fit?

A paralyzed Miroku laughed, leaning against a tree for support, his entire body shaking rather violently with each laugh, which cause the young fox to laugh even harder that he already was.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha screamed, between a sneeze. "What. The. Hell. Is. This. THING!" He shouted, the entire sentence broken up by the sneezes, as he slowly regained his ability to breathe. Kagome chuckled and shook her head.

"Miroku, I thought I told you that those would screw up his nose." Kagome hissed angrily, grabbing Inuyasha's hand and a box of 'Puffs' Kleenex, and dragged Inuyasha off into the forest, far away from the god tree.

Miroku, sat down, staring in the direction of Kagome, amazed. "What just happened?" Miroku asked, blinking, obviously bewildered.

"Kagome took our fun away…" The young fox pouted, then settled down between the exposed roots of the large tree and sighed, munching on a box of toffee.

* * *

Kagome sighed, settling against a tree, obviously tired as she offered another Kleenex to the still sneezing hanyou. 

"What was that thing, Kagome. And why did you bring me out here?" The confused half breed asked, blowing his nose, then dropping the offended Kleenex onto the ground beside himself.

"It was an energy drink, and they are pretty potent. And I didn't want you to make any more of a fool out of yourself." Kagome said, pulling a hair-tie from her pocket, pulling her hair into a low pony-tail.

'She looks…pretty…' Inuyasha thought to himself, blinking wildly.

"Is there something wrong, Inuyasha?" She asked quietly, closing her eyes, twiddling her fingers, almost impatiently.

"Keh, nothing's wrong wench." Inuyasha said, his face was accompanied by a scowl, but Kagome easily saw that it was forced, and very half hearted.

'Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha… what am I going to do with you..' Kagome thought quietly, and sighed, looking over at him, in an almost loving gaze that Inuyasha returned.

The silver haired half dog demon sighed, shaking his head at himself, then dug into his kimono top, and removed a small book covered in leather, with a thin pencil sticking out.

"Kagome… I took this…" He said quietly, holding the book out, as Kagome's eyes widened very noticeably. "I'm really sorry…" Inuyasha said quietly, afraid of the sitting he was going to receive from this. He didn't even know why he didn't just slip the book back into Kagome's big yellow bag. Somehow, though, he just couldn't get himself to do that. It didn't seem right.

"You took my diary!" She screamed, her eyes wide, as she was so surprised, embarrassed and angry that she could have burst into tears. "Did you read it? DID YOU.." Kagome froze, realizing her last entry. The hanyou's face burned with a blush and he sighed, getting up and simply walking away. That, however was stopped.

"SIT BOY!" She screamed at the very top of her lungs as Inuyasha slammed into the earth. This fiasco continued for a few moments, leaving Inuyasha in an approximately six foot deep, personally shaped hole as Kagome stole her private book away and ran as fast as her feet could carry her.

* * *

Kagome jumped quickly down into the well, completely shocked. She perfectly remembered writing the most recent entry….but had Inuyasha gotten that far? Had he started from the beginning of the diary? And how long had he had the diary to read! It couldn't have been too long… the last entry had been written less than a day ago! 

"He's really going to be mad at me this time… wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't come back." Kagome said half heartedly, climbing up the ladder to her own time, sighing.

The girl swung her legs over the side of the well, walking slowly into the house, her mind on other things than what was going on around her. Souta was repeatedly saying her name, but decided to give up after the seventh time, but also giving up because she was half way up the stairs.

'Might as well read what Inuyasha's been reading… figure out what he knows…' Kagome thought silently, opening the book to the most worn page, the latest entry. Kagome's eyes obediently scanned the words, written sloppily in her own hand in a black pen, as she smiled at the few scribbles she had made in hopes of making the entry 'perfect'.

"He knows.." She whispered to herself, staring down at the book. "He knows that I love him. How could I have been so foolish!" Kagome asked loudly, almost scolding herself.

Kagome sighed, looking down at the book, then shut it instinctively, walking over to collapse on the small twin sized bed, staring over at the alarm clock. After staring almost stupidly at the hands, she deciphered the message that it had been trying to 'give' her. 3:35 pm. The girl reached over, picking up the clock and twisting a small knob on the back, setting the alarm for 5:30. 'Two hours will be good for me.' Kagome thought absently, crawling under the covers.

* * *

And…that's it. :Chuckle: So…yah. My dog had a very close encounter. We're havin' the surgery after all. Sorry if you guys have to wait a while for the next instalment, but I know that I want a majorly fluffy chapter in here somewhere. So..yah. Issues to discuss: 

Inuyasha read Kagome's diary. Oh where, oh where is Amanda going, to go with this little twist:Smirks evil-ly: Ok, I'm done. BYE!

Amanda

BUT WAIT! I'm not done.

Sesshoumaru'sbabygirl: Its good so far. It needs more romantic fluff between Inu and Kagome. Is Lord Sesshomaru going to make an appearence at all in this fic? Can InuYasha kill Kikyo and Naraku soon please? I despise Kikyo. I like Naraku but I think that having him in this ruins it. I also hate Shippo so can he die? (answer from you) Sigh... Thought not. It was worth a try! Love the fic so far though! Keep going!

Ok, romantic fluff is coming. Yes, he's comin' too. Yes, they'll be dead. Maybe not soon. I despise Kikyo too. YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON! Maybe...just maybe... lol!

Ok, Now I'm done. If anyone has a review that sticks out, as did Sesshoumaru'sbaby girl's, I'll review to it personally. Buh Bye!


	8. Take Away The Tears

And she's back! If you haven't read my profile, I suggest you do. I'll be updating it regularly(ish….), and I might put important stuff in there. Maybe not! Like today, I say the second Inuyasha movie. So amazed. Great animation. I applaud. But you're not hear for movie reviews. You're here for the fan fiction. So fan fiction, you shall receive! MUAHAHAHAHA!

* * *

Inuyasha groaned, sitting up in his brand spankin' new personally shaped hole, and sighed. He wasn't sure if he dared get out, though he knew that Kagome was gone. Her scent, though still lingering, wasn't nearly as strong as it usually was. Inuyasha leaned up against a muddy wall and sighed, closing his eyes to think. The image of Kagome's diary flashed into his head as he slowly read over that page.

"I think Inuyasha's the only one that keeps me coming back. I love Sango, Miroku, and Shippo in a way, but It's Inuyasha whom I really, truly love with everything, and I will always love him." Inuyasha unknowingly mumbled aloud, and Sango stood above him, in disbelief.

"So you know she loves you, but you're not doing anything?" She hissed angrily, kicking his head. Inuyasha groaned, grabbing his head, then looked up at Sango, growling angrily. He was in a personal hell. Even when Kagome accidentally said "sit", it hurt, so when she was as angry as she had been, it hurt terribly.

"Since when have you been here, slayer?" Inuyasha groaned out, massaging the soft area between his ears.

"Long enough to hear you recite her diary, which I still can't believe you stole. Inuyasha, did you know what a diary even is?" Sango asked angrily, sitting down, swinging her legs over the some five foot deep crater.

"Yeah, well, now I do. It's where girls write their intimate thoughts, and boys steal that to find out how they really feel." He said, and Sango kicked him again.

"Not at all." She bit out as Inuyasha growled as warning. "You're not ever even supposed to imagine about touching a girl's diary, even with her permission. And secondly, Inuyasha, if you read it all, I'm _sure _there was something about how she was going to go to the future and stay there when we're done. I can't afford to lose her Inuyasha, that's all I'll say." She said, rather harshly, accidentally bumping Inuyasha on her way towards Kaede's hut, again, as Inuyasha's eyes widened. 'She wouldn't really leave…would she?' Inuyasha asked as he winced, Sango's scent rushing back at him.

"Well, you're going to at least go and talk to her, aren't you?" She hissed from a slight distance, her liquid glare casting upon Inuyasha, letting him know that he was to go and talk to Kagome, and he was to do it now.

"Yeah…" He said quietly, walking in the direction of the well, sighing deeply.

The sapphire vortex greeted him with a comforting softness, and Inuyasha used this time to think. He sighed, jumping himself out of the well and into the future, as he winced. Something was burning, but the awfully potent stench of smoke was mixed…with Kagome's tears?

* * *

The girl had awaken quite some time ago, still laying in her bed. She had laid a brutal assault on the snooze button of her alarm clock twice, and now was finally "awake" if it were even to be called that. Kagome sighed, rolling over under her covers, her stomach now against the bed, her head turned to face the general direction of the window, which was draped with a blanket from under her bed. The sun always decided to shine _extra_ bright when she wanted to sleep, didn't it?

Why was life so unfair? Kagome was now crying softly, not even noticing it at all, just thinking. First of all, the man she loved had stuck her. Kagome's small hand slowly made its way from her stomach up to her cheek, wincing at the now scabbed over scratches. They seemed to be healing well, but there would defiantly be scars, Kagome already knew this.

She continued into her thoughts. Her friends had (while she was gone, of course) volunteered her with a date with Houjo. While she hadn't known Inuyasha, she would have been THRILLED to take the date, but Houjo…was just…a mere fly in comparison. Kagome sighed again, knowing that Inuyasha might not come back and drag her off to the Feudal Era to save her, this time. Kagome mentally slapped herself, wondering why she had even thought that. _Because you sat him about a hundred times! _Kagome sighed, downheartedly, now sobbing and noticing. She didn't try to stop herself, just cuddled into her pillow and blanket.

Unable to take any more, Inuyasha jumped up onto the small room "extension" from Kagome's room, pushing the cracked window open slowly. "Kagome?" He whispered lightly, peeking his head into the room. Kagome's soft gasp, though he couldn't tell how, sounded a lot more feminine and delicate to his sensitive dog ears.

"Inuyasha.." She whispered softly, wiping her eyes of the tears, curling up in the blanket even more. Those beautiful golden eyes poured down onto her, making her, though unbeknownst to her, blush outrageously. "What're you doing here?" Kagome asked, softly, sitting up as she pulled the blankets along with her. She felt safe, felt secure, with those blankets surrounding her, and for no good reason. They were mere blankets, thin pieces of cloth. They couldn't protect her from anything..accept for a late night's chill.

"Kagome.. I'm sorry I took that book..thing. Really, I am." Inuyasha said, wincing at the anger in his tone. He really hadn't meant it that way.. The hanyou's eyes were drawn to the deep brown ones focused on him, and him alone in a sorrowful yet loving gaze. She simply scooted against the wall, patting the bed beside her softly, as Inuyasha followed like an obedient puppy. What else could he have done? The urge to be near Kagome was almost too much, and he could tell that she was in pain. "Kagome, you havn't been crying over the book, have you?" Inuyasha asked, knowing the answer, but not wanting to jump to conclusions. Hell, at the moment, the boy was praying that his assumption was wrong.

As he slowly settled on top of the blankets, he sighed as Kagome's head automatically rested at his shoulder. Inuyasha's chest sunk softly with a deep exhale, and he rested his head, though barely putting any weight on it, on Kagome's head, hoping to calm her, to comfort her. Inuyasha couldn't stand to see Kagome so miserable, so sad, and he knew that she would want to talk about what had happened to her. He really didn't want to hear anything about it, but if it made Kagome feel better.. anything for Kagome.

"Who all knows?" Kagome asked quietly, finally looking up at Inuyasha, who seemed at perfect peace. He sighed, looking down upon the girl, wrapping a hand softly around her waist.

"Miroku, Sango, Kaede..and of course me. No one else knows." He whispered quietly, burying his face into her hair, softly. _Maybe,_ Inuyasha thought,_ if I act cute, she won't be mad._ Inuyasha, however, no matter how much he tried to fool himself, was not being cute. He wanted to mark Kagome as his right that second, and the resistance he was holding over himself was unbelievable. Kagome's smile was very hard to miss, as she tangled her hand softly in the very bottom of Inuyasha's silver hair. Kagome sighed, inhaling deeply, signaling to Inuyasha that she would probably be crying at the end of what she had to say.

"I just..wish this hadn't happened. Any of it. Not me traveling back in time through the well, not you and I meeting, not me falling…" Kagome blinked, gulping deeply. "I just wish that somehow I could have avoided all of this. I've got people in a world of hurt while I just sit here, in your arms." Kagome spilled, and Inuyasha who wanted to make the statement true, wrapped his other arm around Kagome tightly, still seeming amazed at her neck, nuzzling it and smelling it through her hair. "I wish I had never gone down that ally, never gotten so accustomed to it..never…gotten raped." Kagome said quietly, tears streaming down her face, her voice squeaky. Inuyasha had stopped the new obsession with her neck to stare down at Kagome, occasionally wiping a tear away with a single clawed finger. Finally, courage surfaced.

"Kagome, this is what fate had planned for you. You've got people back there that love you, people here that love you, and someone.." Inuyasha gulped, "that loves you more than anything in the world. Now just get some rest, 'k?" Inuyasha finished himself rather forcefully as the girl below him just stared. The silver haired demon smirked a fanged smile down at the girl, sliding himself slowly under the covers, feeling his kimono snag on Kagome's silk pajama pants and tee-shirt more than once.

"Inuyasha, did you jus-" Kagome started, but Inuyasha shook his head, covering her mouth softly.

"Sleep, wench." Inuyasha said, teasingly, pulling softly on her long raven locks. Kagome nodded almost absently, closing her eyes and falling easily to sleep. She didn't know why, but was still extremely exhausted. Inuyasha lay in bed next to his favorite girl, smiling down at her, watching her every move. Soon, the sun's light stopped filling the room, and Inuyasha groaned. _Well, I guess there'll be no marking her tonight. _He thought rather angrily, sniffing the air. _Can't even smell right. Better get a good smell to end my hanyou time.. _Inuyasha smirked, laying his head next to Kagome's, their faces barely inches apart, as he pulled her, by the small of her back, towards him so that their bodies were touching. Inuyasha's eyes drifted down into a hazy rest just as the sun set…

* * *

And it's ovah with. I forced myself to finish it, but I'm rather proud. Not enough fluff, you say? Oh, you just wait to see what I have planned for you. In the original, poo-ey draft, Inuyasha and Kagome kissed. :Is chased by angry mob: DON'T KILL ME! THEN YOU WON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS:Runs away:

Ah, yesh. A special thanks to all the reviewers. I love you all in your own special way…sorta. But..yeah. So I post this? I guess so…I might post it early today, I might post it after I get up. It's 2:45, here, people, and I was up at about 7:00. It was a Saturday. Gimme a break! I guess that's what I get for being in dance, though…

Amanda


	9. Carnival Part I

Yay reviewers! Not too many, but all of them within 24 hours of each other. I feel loved, you guys. There's no promise that the next few chapters will be spaced evenly _at all _but with there only being 33 days of school left, I'll probably be able to get some work done. So…here comes the chapter, I guess. I'm in a really good mood because of something that happened in my personal life on Sunday that concerns my ex-boyfriend. Slap me, somebody. I'm crazy for that boy…but enough about me. ON WITH THE KIKYO KILLING!...:Falls over:

* * *

Only moments after Inuyasha had fallen into a deep sleep, a soft knock fell at the door. Though the volume of the knock escaladed, the cute couple still lay, fast asleep. Finally, a call of "Kagome?" from the other side woke a very sleepy and very human Inuyasha, as he sighed, looking down at the treasure in his arms. He slowly blinked, looking around, as suddenly, the door swung open.

"Kagome! Mom says di-" Souta started, but stopped himself, letting his jaw drop, staring at the two. "Ooooh! I'm telling mom!" He shouted, waking Kagome with a jump, as Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, softly untangling himself from Kagome.

"Kid, you've got the count of three before your face is punched in. One…Two…" Inuyasha started to lunge at the little boy, but before he could say 'Three!', he collided painfully, _very _painfully, with the floor.

"INUYASHA! SIT BOY!" Kagome screamed from beneath her covers, sitting up, showing Souta that she was fully clothed. "Souta, I won't s-i-t him next time, if you tell mom. Get out of my room!" She shouted as the boy scrambled out of her room, Inuyasha's growl sounding VERY loudly.

"Damnit, wench, what the hell was that for!" Inuyasha's muffled shout sounded, his face still smashed to the ground. Kagome smiled and reached down, softly stroking his raven colored hair, smiling at the fact that it was the exact color of hers.

"Because, I couldn't have you killing my brother. I want to torture the little squirt myself." Kagome smiled, running her fingers softly through his hair, knowing that the spell had worn off already, but Inuyasha was still laying there. "Dinner?" She asked, and he nodded in his hole, which was actually no more than a tiny indention in the ground, groaning, having sat himself up painfully slowly.

"Yeah...whatever. That one really hurt." He said, standing himself up, purposely getting in Kagome's way and knocking her back onto the bed before walking out of the bedroom, pouting. Kagome laughed and stood up slowly, making her ways down the stairs. _So Inuyasha….loves me? That's impossible…_

* * *

Inuyasha practically inhaled the food that Mrs. Higurashi had prepared, along with a side of ramen that Souta himself had very proudly made. It was a little bit burnt, which confused Inuyasha, but it was still _very _good.

_Ring, Ring!_ Shouted the telephone, and Kagome sighed getting up, picking up the receiver and answering it.

"Higurashi Shrine." She said solemnly, them smiled. "OH! Hi guys!" She shouted. On the other line were her three best friends, of the time period, of course, coaxing her into yet another date with Houjo. "Well…actually…uh…" Her eyes absently fell onto Inuyasha. "I already have a date for the carnival."

Inuyasha twitched. _Carnival? What in hell's name is a carnival? _He thought for a minute, then twitched again. _WHO'S HER DATE TO IT? _

"Yeah…We might be a little late." Kagome's face noticeably dropped, as she dropped her tone. "Yes, it's the possessive... alright guys, that's going too far. He really is a good guy. Yeeeaahhh…fine. Bye." Kagome groaned and sat the receiver on the phone base and slowly took her seat back at the table.

"Mom, do you have any extra clothes, for Inuyasha?" She asked, looking straight forward to her mother, not even wanting to think about Inuyasha's reply.

"Yeah, sure honey. But hasn't Houjo been asking you to that Carnival for over a month now, sweetie?" She asked, smirking at her daughter, excusing herself quickly from the two teenagers' glares.

"I'll…be back." Inuyasha fumed, storming away from the table, up to Kagome's room. Souta and Grandpa only chuckled softly as the only remaining female in the room left, rather swiftly.

Just as the door slammed close and Inuyasha started to open the window, Kagome stormed in after him.

"What is wrong with you? My mother makes a simple remark and you go off! Inuyasha, what's up?" Kagome asked him, twitching, as Inuyasha was caught half in and half out the window.

_Stay in or go out...stay in...or go out...DAMNIT! _The hanyou climbed back through the window, staring at Kagome. _Damnit, I don't deserve her. What does she see in me? _"That hobo guy. Go to the car-nih-vul with him. I'll just screw it all up." Inuyasha said almost angrily, leaning against the closed portion of the window. Kagome's nose scrunched and she made a rather high pitched chuckle.

"Screw it all up? Inuyasha, please, everything'll be a wreck if you _don't _come. I'll have to _deal_ with Houjo, and I already told my friends that you were coming and…yeah. Please just come? I promise you that it will be fun…" She flashed a brilliant smile at Inuyasha, who only cringed. Kagome sighed, and opened the small door to her closet, pulling out a green t-shirt, a pair of jeans and a jean jacket. Inuyasha stared the girl down coldly, knowing that his decision had been made, but he had to pretend to not be going just a few moments longer. "Inuyasha, your act isn't all that good. My mom's probably got your clothes by now..it would be smart to go get them." Kagome murmured, and walked into the hallway, closing the door of the bathroom softly.

"Damn her!" Inuyasha shouted as Mrs. Higurashi walked in, smiling, holding a pair of jeans and a dark red t-shirt, and a pair of sandals.

"Inuyasha, here's your clothes. If you need any help, go get Souta." She said, her smile was almost as beautiful as Kagome's, though in Inuyasha's mind, it didn't even compare.

"Yeah...yeah..." Inuyasha mumbled almost angrily, shutting the door and getting dressed.

* * *

Three girls quickly stormed the shrine and found their best friend, dragging her up to her room. They squealed and squeaked in excitement.

"Guys, guys! Settle down!" She said over them, while knocking on the door. "Inuyasha, my friends are here…" She said, though just as she started to open the door, it was slammed back shut.

"Kagome, you in here, alone." Was all that was heard, and the three girls chuckled, while Kagome slid through the door before shutting it. When she saw Inuyasha, she simply had to remind herself to breathe…and the same went for our hanyou human.

"I'm. Not. Going. ANYWHERE. Like. This." He said angrily, as his shirt was on backwards, his pants unbuckled and unzipped, revealing a pair of red boxers, and his sandals were on the wrong feet. Still, he looked simply too good for Kagome, who simply chuckled.

"Alright, first of all, your shoes are on wrong. Take 'em off, we'll deal with those later." She said, smiling at him, turning around, sticking her head slowly out the door. "Guys, we're having a little….talk. Go on downstairs and have my mom fix you a drink…or something." She said, and Eri simply smirked.

"Have you guys kissed yet?" She asked, then Yuka piped in beside her.

"How long has he been over that other woman?" She smirked, and Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Guys, just go downstairs!" She shouted, chuckling loudly, then shutting the door on them. Her attention turned back to her poorly dressed Inuyasha, and she smiled. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

To blisfulignorance:

Yeah, I am trying to be more frequent in my updates, but believe me, I do have a life. Heh…

To suppup17:

Heh...that used to be a dilemma for me, whether to get ready for dance or read more fan fiction. OO I never expected my fiction to cause such problems, though…thanks for reminding me that this chapter was done, too!

And so another update. Thanks again to all my reviews. I'll probably post this on Thursday, since today is Tuesday, and I need to get to sleep…and Wednesday night is chaotic for me. So…thanks.

Amanda

Edit: Yup, here we are Thursday, and I'm posting.


	10. Carnival Part II

I'm back? OH YEAH, babes, I'm back. Hmm…Dunno how far this chapter will get. I have ideas, but I'm not guaranteeing anything. Let's just say.. Kagome's friends might do some interfering…muahahahahaha…

Notice: I live in the middle of nowhere, USA, so if I get some Japanese facts wrong, then please forgive me. I don't know if Japanese have carnivals, but this is my story, so in my fanfic, they do. That's why it's called fanFICTION. If you want to inform me of anything, please do it in a nice way, and if you don't like that I'm not doing things just so, then **DON'T READ THIS STORY! **Thank you for your time.

--------------------------o----

After dressing her rather confused hanyou, and fighting him to put on the sandals, Kagome and Inuyasha emerged into the living room. A domino-effect jaw drop from all of Kagome's friends was released, causing Inuyasha to let out his best human growl and Kagome to laugh, then glare when the jaws didn't domino-effect themselves back up. She cleared her throat sharply, and then smiled, waving at all of her friends.

"Should we go?" She asked, pulling the green sequin necklace and matching ear rings out of her pocket, quickly sliding them into their place. Inuyasha blinked down at her, finally noticing her. She was wearing a pale green eye-shadow, and a soft pink lip gloss with her hair pulled into a low pony-tail, her bangs still unruly. The green t-shirt brought out the color of her chocolate eyes and the jean jacket fit her snugly, as did the jeans.

"Yeah, whatever." Inuyasha breathed, following Kagome, as all of her friends' eyes followed Inuyasha…more like his rear end as he walked ahead of them.

"Guys, you coming?" She shouted, stopping Inuyasha, forcing each of her friends in front of her. Each one of them muttered something along the lines of 'Spoil sport' or 'Party pooper' as they passed her, making Kagome simply chuckle and take Inuyasha's hand as to keep him near herself, and so that he wasn't lost.

--------------------p-----

"What the fucking hell?" Inuyasha asked, looking around at all of the flashing lights, people, and big metal heaps. Kagome simply smirked as he grabbed for her hand in fear, as she leaned up and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, none of it's trying to kill you. You-we're safe in my time." She smiled, reassuringly, as she caught up with her friends finally.

"We're going to go on the squirrel cages, want to come with us?" Yuka finally suggested, and Kagome simply smirked and nodded. _Inuyasha on an amusement ride. This will be f-u-n fun._ Kagome thought to herself, while Inuyasha spat out a quick 'feh', then followed Kagome, whose hands were both grasped by her friends.

As they neared the "Squirrel Cages", Inuyasha's entire coloring was gone. He forced a smile towards Kagome, but inside, he was screaming. _THOSE FUCKING THINGS ARE GOING UPSIDE DOWN! FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK! _

"Kagome, it's two or three to a cage… and when it was just us four we could fit it..but you.." Kagome stopped her and nodded.

"Sure. I'll ride with Inuyasha." She said, smiling up at him, as he finally let out a soft whimper, leaning over to catch her ear.

"What the fucking hell is it? If this is your idea of a joke, it's not funny at all, Kagome." He hissed into her ear, and Kagome only chuckled.

"Don't worry, it's fun." She said quietly as she watched her friends be buckled and locked into the cage by the good looking man who flashed a very perverted look at her. His violet eyes were almost exactly the same as…Miroku? Could this be his reincarnation?

"Miss? Come along, I'm sorry but we can't wait, even for a beauty like you." The man said with a smooth voice, and Inuyasha snarled, but Kagome simply shoved him forward. _So I've found Miroku…_ She thought happily, sitting Inuyasha in the creaky cage.

"Kagome, are you sur-" Inuyasha's question was cut off by a slap. Miroku of this time was exactly like Miroku of five hundred years ago, always trying for a feel.

"Just buckle me up and get on with the next customer." Kagome groaned, as the door shut and was bolted shut. Inuyasha snarled at the man as the ride rose upwards as they continued to load teenagers, children, and the occasional tortured parent.

"Kagome.. I don't want to be on this thing…" Inuyasha mumbled quietly, looking her in the eyes, his face showed genuine fear. Kagome smiled, taking his hand and rubbing her fingers across his, hoping to somewhat calm him.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. I've been on these things a billion times, and I was terrified the first time too. Just wait and see, it's really fun." Kagome said quietly, her deep brown pools drawing Inuyasha in as she flashed another one of her brilliant smiles.

Finally, the ride started. Inuyasha refused to release Kagome's hand, clutching to it for dear life. The ride finally got up to speed, and the cages started to rock, and finally the death grip on Kagome's poor hand loosened. Inuyasha started to rock the cage slowly, and Kagome joined, causing them to flip over a few times, as Inuyasha shrieked in horror, as Kagome made a mental note of Inuyasha's scream. She knew that she had just heard something that most likely no one else, in her time nor five hundred years ago had _ever_ heard. Inuyasha started to get used to flipping over, and by the time the ride was over, there as a mess of raven hair all over the cage. Kagome slowly separated herself from Inuyasha, laughing loudly at something Inuyasha had mumbled under his breath about 'That damned monk having done a good job at multiplying', as Inuyasha took her hand slowly.

"THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!" Eri screamed, bounding up to Kagome and Inuyasha.

"What happened to you guys? You were perfectly still for a while in the beginning…" Yuka added, smiling at Kagome and Inuyasha's intertwined hands. Kagome shook her head, and lead the group off to another ride, similar to the squirrel cages, but it resembled a rocket.

----------------o-------

Over an hour later, and about fifteen almost break downs from Inuyasha at every ride, the group had ridden every ride at the carnival accept for the Ferris wheel, including the little kids' roller coaster. Over that course of time, they had managed to pick up Eri's boyfriend, Shimonu, a sleek young man with bright orange hair and deep green eyes that Kagome had yet to meet. Everyone finally agreed on riding the Ferris Wheel before leaving, as the group filed into the line. The school court yard was now littered with paper cups and dropped pieces of cotton candy, and Kagome wondered who had to clean the mess up, but put it quickly out of her mind.

"So this one doesn't turn upside down?" Inuyasha asked sadly, looking at Kagome, who shook her head.

"No, Inuyasha, this one's just kind of…I don't know, You'll just have to wait and see." The girl smiled, clutching his hand tightly. The entire night, which had been wonderful for them both, their hands had been intertwined, or their arms linked. As Kagome dug deeply into her pockets for the last of their tickets, of which she had bought the perfect amount, and handed them to the short man, who ripped them and handed the stubs back to Kagome, making way for them onto the ride.

As Inuyasha shoved himself to the corner of the small seat, Kagome simply looked at him. Inuyasha looked scared again, not nearly as scared as he had before the Squirrel cages, but still frightened. Kagome sighed, touching his shoulder, causing the human-hanyou to jump, shoving himself back into the corner further.

"Kagome…I've got a bad feeling about this thing." He said quietly, looking her in the eyes, as though he were about to cry, or scream. Kagome simply smiled and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly once again trying to comfort him. The raven haired boy simply pulled Kagome into his side softly, holding onto her as if she were going to fall to her death. Kagome, though not too surprised at his sudden show of emotion, for he was after all in his human state, smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "I'm really glad you made me come to this thing, Kagome." Inuyasha whispered quietly, kissing the top of her head softly. _Take note of this side of Inuyasha, it may come only once a month…or never again. _Kagome thought to herself and smiled, snuggling into Inuyasha's side contently.

"I'm glad I _made _you come." Kagome said mockingly, chuckling at her friends who seemed to think that the Ferris Wheel was the Squirrel Cages.

"Ooooh! Love birds!" The two girls shouted from below Kagome and Inuyasha who just ignored them, looking out onto the Tokyo skyline. Inuyasha released another human growl, resting his left hand atop Kagome's shoulder, rubbing soft circles upon it. Kagome simply melted into his touch, smiling contently. Shimonu and Eri, who were right above them at the moment were also cuddled up, but Inuyasha didn't feel he could trust this Shimonu. He was too familiar…to nice, almost. Kagome also felt odd around Shimonu, but was nice and ignored the feeling for Eri. Kagome had already decided to pull Shimonu aside when it was time to go, but had no idea how Inuyasha would feel about that. But she was now in his arms, comfortable, and that was all that mattered.

"So, how've you been lately?" Inuyasha choked out, chuckling afterwards, rubbing the bare skin on her arm.

"Well, besides fighting all the demons, dealing with my friends…and…err…" She swallowed a lump, closing her eyes. She hadn't even thought of what had happened for a while. _How can someone forget about getting raped? _"I'm fine, Inuyasha." She almost snapped at him, curling her legs up beside her, barely sliding them under the rail.

"'Gome? What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, looking down at the top of her head, ceasing the rubbing on her arm. She blinked back tears, wrapping her arms more tightly around his neck, resting her chin at his shirt collar, simply crying. "Kagome.." He whispered, feeling helpless. He wished she would stop crying. The sound of Kagome's crying shattered his heart into microscopic pieces. He rubbed her back softly, hoping to cause some comfort, but doubting he would be able to do anything. "Kagome, after we deal with Naraku, I'll find that jerk, I swear, and he'll never see another living soul." Inuyasha whispered into her ear, pressing his lips against the ear after he was done, rocking her gently back and forth.

"You can't just go about killing people in my era, Inuyasha. There's a thing called the law, and.." Inuyasha shook his head and laughed, putting his hand softly over Kagome's lips.

"That bastard will beg me to kill him. Kagome, no one's ever going to hurt you again, not while you're under my watch. I promise you that." Inuyasha said quietly as Kagome straightened up, examining the boy's face. Inuyasha touched her gently, moving her bangs away from her eyes, and leaned down to kiss her. His lips pressed forcefully against hers, his tongue licking at Kagome's lips. She obediently allowed him inside, as Inuyasha explored her mouth with his tongue. Everything was perfect…or at least at the moment, it was. Kagome was content as she leaned into Inuyasha, kissing him back with just as much passion as he was kissing her. As Kagome's need for oxygen got the best of her, she pulled back, gasping for air. Inuyasha breathed slowly and deeply, smiling down at Kagome. She loved him. He was sure of it. All he had to do was read the diary…_The diary! _The hanyou had forgotten all about the diary. He'd have to read it some time, see Kagome's point of view on all of…_this_.

----------------p------

As everyone gathered at the exit of the Ferris Wheel, Kagome clutched tightly to Inuyasha's hand, as did Yuka to Shimonu. Kagome smiled, whispering something to where Inuyasha's human ear should have been, as he nodded.

"Shimonu? Can I have a word with you really quickly?" She asked, smiling, as he nodded, kissing the top of Eri's head before walking off with Kagome. Inuyasha talked with the remaining girls, as they questioned him about his relationship with Kagome. _Hurry up with that guy, Kagome, or I might kill your little friends…_

"Yes Kagome? What's up?" He asked, smiling, his tone cocky. _Too cocky… _Kagome thought to herself examining him. He looked like someone…she knew this man.

"Do I know you from somewhere? I know I've seen you before…" Kagome said quietly, looking at him.

Shimonu only smiled. "You saw me just a few days ago, if I'm correct. I still smell myself on you. Well…my _old _self. I've changed a lot since you saw me last, Kagome." Shimonu said quietly, smirking at the girl still. Kagome studied him. Who…then it hit her.

"SHIPPO!" She screamed, and Shimonu laughed loudly, patting Kagome on the back.

"Took you long enough…'mother'." The now older Shippo said, as everything registered. The hair, the eyes…Shippo had grown handsome. No wonder she wasn't attracted to him, she had been the boy's adoptive mother for…this was just too weird. She embraced Shippo-turned-Shimonu, then let go, fearing that Eri would look over, and smiled.

"Kagome, I need to talk to you and Inuyasha tomorrow. Eri's told me all about you…though I know more about you than she does..I can get your phone number from her, easy. I'll have a ride provided for you. Now, I must get back to lovely Eri…" Shippo smiled, patting Kagome on the shoulder once more. Kagome walked back to Inuyasha, dumbfounded.

"Well guys, I've really got to get heading home." Yuka said, smiling at the two couples, dragging Ayumi with her. A shouted "goodbye!" was heard as a car door slammed and a car sped off. Kagome was sure that Ayumi was ranting Yuka's head off about how much better Kagome and Inuyasha were together than Kagome and Houjo. Kagome still couldn't take her eyes off of Shimonu. It was just too…weird. She was bewildered. Shippo had survived five hundred years…wait. Did that mean that Koga was out there too? Sesshoumaru? Maybe she and Inuyasha were even still alive…everything was a blur. This was crazy…and she needed to talk to Inuyasha. Alone. She'd have to set up the futon in her room, for she had the idea that she would be up talking to Inuyasha late into the night.

"Kagome.." Inuyasha shook his treasure lightly, jerking her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Wha?" She asked, looking around, seeing Shimonu still smiling. His hand gently rested at Eri's side, scrunching up her shirt a bit, while Eri's head was rested against his well sculpted chest. Shippo had _really _changed.

"I said, we're gonna get going. Shimonu's got to be home in about thirty minutes, and he's got to bring me home too. I can't believe it got so late so fast! We'll have to talk another time!" Eri said, freeing herself from her boyfriend's grasp, and hugging Kagome.

"Yeah..call me sometime. You know the number." She said cautiously, eyeing Shimonu. _That can't be Shippo…but who else would know? _

"Bye!" Called Shimonu as Inuyasha waved reluctantly, looking down at Kagome once they were out of sight.

"I'll explain everything when we get home." Kagome said, quietly, leading him out to one of the main streets of Tokyo, holding his hand tightly.

----------------------p-------

"THAT WAS **_WHO_**!" Inuyasha shouted, as Kagome chuckled and a laid finger across his lips.

"Yeah, I found it hard to believe, but he called me "mother" and everything…he says he needs to talk to us." Kagome said, as Inuyasha leaned back on the futon, laying on his side, so that only the crack between the bed and the futon separated them.

"Our little Shippo has grown up.." Inuyasha chuckled, wrapping his arms around Kagome's waist, pulling her towards him.

"I can't believe it. I mean…You and I both..we've never been able to sense a single demon in my time." Kagome whispered, resting her forehead at the crook of his neck.

"Well, we're demons. We can disguise ourselves, you know. Stupid wench." Inuyasha laughed, kissing the top of her head, smiling. He was happy for the first time in a very, _very_ long time. He hadn't felt this at ease since his mother had been alive. She always comforted him during his human nights…almost exactly like Kagome was now. It was just past one o'clock, or so said Kagome's alarm clock, and both were starting to get tired.

"Don't call me that! Inuyasha, it's mean!" Kagome shrieked at him, smiling. Inuyasha shook his head, inhaling deeply. He couldn't smell her nearly as clearly, but he could still smell her. This was Kagome's scent. He nuzzled her neck, kissing it softly, as Kagome giggled childishly. It felt wonderful, aside from the slight tickle, to be truthful. Kagome leaned into Inuyasha, smiling. She loved him so much.

"Fine then, what do you want me to call you, then?" Inuyasha asked, and Kagome smiled mischievously.

"How's about, 'my one and only love'? I like the sound of that." Kagome smirked, hugging her body tightly to his, content.

"Alright, my one and only love. That's what I'll call you, even in front of the monk." Inuyasha smiled down at her again.

"I dare you to. To call me that in front of Miroku. You'd never have the guts to do it, Inuyasha, and you know that!"

"We'll just have to see…wench…" He smiled, kissing her passionately once more, then grabbed the girl's blanket and pillow, keeping her snuggled to him. This would be the best sleep he would get in the long time.

---------------------------------o----------

Amasti: Took ya long enough.

It's summer. Amasti will be making regular appearances…she's pretty much my snobby, darker side.

Amasti: No, you're just too nice and preppy and bouncy. ¬.¬ I'm disgusted by you. Just post and get it over with.

NO! The readers deserve more than that…but I don't know what I can give them. I have no idea what I meant in the above. I started this chapter weeks before I finished it. It's summer now.

Amasti: SUMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR::Squeal:

You squeal?


	11. Meet the Family

She's back? Already? Well, I'm starting this chapter, and I'll probably finish it soon, too. Well…yeah. Heh…heh.

OBMcKenzie: Don't lose hope in me. If I do decide to quit a story, I'll post one of those annoying a/n's and then wait about a week or two before deleting it, and even then, I keep the story saved on my computer…o.O; Thanks, I was wanting my chapters to flow a lot more smoothly, and I've actually been trying to work on that. And about the Shippo thing…I didn't even plan that. The orange hair, green eyes thing just kind of spilled out, and then the name…then I thought "Shippo!" and there you have it.

Bookwormjavajunkie: Hehehehe…I do that too sometimes, read an entire fiction in one night. I think who the rapist is has been made slightly obvious, but I dunno, maybe that's just because it's my story. OO; And I agree with you, a lemon this early would be…:shudder: Thank you so very much:Blush: I'm flattered.

To the rest of my reviewers: Thank you so much! I'm sorry it took me so long to get this last update out, and I really did feel bad, but I either couldn't find the inspiration in me to write, or I just didn't have the time. I love you all….but maybe not in the same way you all love me. Oo;;

Random: Does anyone know which of Kagome's friends is which? I just thought that it would be nice to know before I go and put them in the wrong personalities…thanks, if you do know, just please leave it in a review. ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

A now hanyou Inuyasha's eyes fluttered at the light coming in through Kagome's window as he sighed. It wasn't very early, he knew that much. The hanyou's attention turned on the girl in his arms, laying snuggled into his chest. He had been correct, he slept without a single problem throughout the night, not a single dream. _If I could sleep like this **every **night… _the hanyou thought, yawning quietly. Kagome jerked in her sleep, her breathing quickening. Inuyasha simply rubbed her back softly, as the girl settled back down, clutching to his haori tightly. Kagome's eyes slowly opened, and she jumped at the sight she took in…Inuyasha's haori? That was right, he had changed back into his own clothing before they had gone to bed.

"I can't believe that Shippo's dating one of my best friends…" Kagome mumbled, closing her eyes against the bright light. Inuyasha smiled, resting his forehead against the top of her head, holding her tightly.

"I doubt I'll be able to look at the runt the same." Inuyasha laughed, sitting himself up, as Kagome adjusted herself to where her head lay in his lap. Inuyasha brushed her hair aside, looking down at her, simply smiling.

"He wanted to see us…Shimonu." Kagome said, twitching as she said the name. She gave up. He would always be little Shippo to her. _He's like my baby. It hurts to see him grown up…I feel like I've missed it all. _

"Yeah…Shimonu doesn't even fit him. Shippo or the runt. That's what I'll always call the kid." Inuyasha said, smiling. _He's awfully happy today…_

As if on cue, the phone rang, as Kagome slowly got up, and answered it. She smiled, talking to Shippo, or that was what Inuyasha heard.

"Yes, I'll be sure he comes. About thirty minutes will be good, thanks Shippo!" Kagome said, smiling contently. "Well, get ready. We're off to Shippo's in about thirty minutes." Kagome smirked, sitting back down next to her hanyou. _My hanyou…_ She smiled at the thought, brushing her lips across his before she grabbed in her closet and disappeared into the hallway, a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt sitting on the bed.

* * *

Kagome entered the room, wearing a skirt similar to that of her school uniform, but in blue, and a grey hoodie, with blue Japanese symbols across it.

"It's kinda cold outside, and mom made us food before we go." Kagome said, walking into her room, reaching for a hairbrush on her desk, before the hanyou caught her wrist, twirling her around until she was in his arms. Inuyasha leaned down, kissing her deeply, pushing against her. Kagome simply melted into him, as she pulled back for air, gasping. _Does he know what he does to me? _Kagome smirked, kissing him softly on the lips, then grabbed his hand, dragging him into the kitchen, taking a place at the table. Mrs. Higurashi smiled, placing two bowls of rice and steak in front of Inuyasha and Kagome, mumbling something about calling her to Kagome, then walking out into the living room.

"Like to kiss me, 'eh?" Kagome chuckled, taking a bite of her lunch, smiling. Inuyasha took his chopsticks, taking a piece of her steak, and forcing it into his mouth. "Heeey!" She shouted, taking a piece of his steak. Soon, it was an all out war on who could eat the most of whose steak first. After they had both scarfed down each others meals, Inuyasha smiled and stood up, walking into the living room for his hat, seeing a big black piece of metal, blinking. _What is that thing? _The limo honked, causing Inuyasha to jump and fall down, Souta and Mrs. Higurashi simply laughing.

"Mom! Our ride's here! We'll be back later!" Kagome shouted, blinking when she found Inuyasha on the floor, but shook her head, pulling the hanyou up and walking out into the courtyard of the shrine…when she saw it. "A LIMO?" The girl screeched, as Inuyasha's ears flattened underneath his hat.

"Yes, wench, a lee-moh." Inuyasha snapped at her, picking her up bridal style and hauling her up to the car, the driver got out and opened the door.

"You must be uncle Inuyasha and aunt Kagome, I presume?" The handsome young man asked, as Inuyasha double took. _Uncle Inuyasha? Aunt Kagome? You can't be telling me…_

"You're Sesshoumaru's?" Kagome asked, smiling at the boy, as he nodded. "Yes. I just now qualified for a driver's license, and the normal driver, Noru, is sick. Ship…Shimonu asked me to pick you two up. You'll be going to my home, I suppose?" He asked, smiling at Kagome. _Father was right. She is beautiful. _The young man thought, smiling.

"I..we don't know. Shippo just said that we're supposed to get in the ride." Kagome said politely, elbowing Inuyasha softly in the stomach to stop him from staring, then she glanced over the young man herself. He looked exactly like Sesshoumaru, accept for he had short, choppy black hair and was wearing a black bandana over the top of his hair.

"C'mon…let's go. I'm sorry to rush, but Father will be angry if you two are late." The young boy almost snapped, pointing at the opened door. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, setting Kagome down, putting a hand at the small of her back, softly pushing her towards the car. Kagome's eyes sparkled as she crawled in, Inuyasha rolled his eyes again, giving…what was his name?

"Hey, kid? What's your name?" Inuyasha asked, still standing outside the door, Kagome looking around inside the limo, amazed. The boy simply smiled.

"Call me Romu." The boy said, watching Inuyasha crawl into the strange black…creature…and shutting the door after him. Kagome smiled as Inuyasha took hold of her hand, pulling her towards him. Romu crawled into the drivers seat, looking back at the two and instantly closing the small window that separated them, a black board seperating the three.

* * *

"And so, little brother is finally here." A cold voice bit out as Romu opened the fancy cherry wood doors to a large…library?

"Sesshoumaru, what the hell do you want?" Inuyasha snarled, Kagome's arms wrapped around one of his in an almost attempt to hold him back. Shimonu chuckled, stepping out from behind one of the many bookcases, waving to the two. "And how the fucking hell did you get so fucking big on me, runt?" Inuyasha barked, causing both Sesshoumaru and Shimonu to crack up. Kagome shook her head, softly rubbing Inuyasha's arm, hoping the two wouldn't make Inuyasha _too _angry.

"Well, Inuyasha, I've been around at least five hundred years longer than you, so, that might explain a bit. And it may not seem as so, but Sesshoumaru and I have an important issue to speak to you both about." Shimonu said, looking at Inuyasha, strait faced. Sesshoumaru nodded, looking at Kagome.

"Aah, my brother has indeed intends on taking a very beautiful mate. No more lovely than my own Rin, of course." Sesshoumaru said, plain as day, smiling. Kagome's eyes widened.

"Rin?" Both Kagome and Inuyasha shouted, thought Inuyasha was out of crude humor. Here, his brother had despised him for having half blood, yet his mate had bore him half demon mates. It was all to funny.

"Yes, Rin." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "But Rin is not here. She will be here soon enough, and you may speak with her after we have discussed the issue at hand. I am sure you have assumed that most demons that you met are still alive at meeting Shippo again. As true as that may be, most demons now are only half demons, so they are easily hidden with bandanas and hats. This, however, is also not the issue I wish to speak with you about. Kagome, you probably question if you and Inuyasha made it to the future. Right now, the answer to that question is no. But, it can be solved. Inuyasha will take you as his mate…I have seen this from the very first time I met you. I fear that my brother has never been as angry as when we met in my father's bones when I was trying for Tetsuiaga. Trust him, and also trust yourself. You have a great power. You are the reincarnate of Kikyo, one of the most powerful priestesses, mikos, if you will, ever. But you are no ordinary priestess. You have both the power of Kikyo in you, but the power of yourself, and all of your ancestors. Kikyo stared herself, and therefore, earned all of her power herself. This will come in handy for you in the months ahead. If I am correct, then I have caught you both before it is too late. This will be a major advantage. I've prepared this for myself…of the past. Please, it must be delivered as soon as you both cross back into the well, it is very important." Sesshoumaru paused, looking towards a window in the large library. "Rin is home." He smiled, popping his neck before looking from Kagome to Inuyasha. _It is a shame that they were mated yet failed to live long enough to produce pups the first time…thank the gods I can change that._

Rin walked into the room, all smiles, a tall young man at her side, showing exact facial resemblance to Rin, the only difference was a pair of fangs sticking out of his mouth and silver hair. Rin dropped her purse, jaw dropping. "KAGOME!" She shouted, smiling widely, running and hugging Kagome. Rin was now about 5'5, with long, black hair and deep brown eyes. Her teeth were strait, and her body was thin and toned, she was in great shape for having kids. Rin stepped back, looking over Kagome. "You're just as I remember you." Rin flashed Kagome a million dollar smile, looking over at Sesshoumaru, then Shippo, and then looking at Inuyasha. "Ooh..you weren't done, were you?" Rin's head beaded with sweat and she chuckled nervously. "I guess I'll go now..oh, Kagome, please visit me before you leave!" Rin said, cheerfully, and walked out of the room. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, looking at the now closed doors, then looked back at Kagome.

"As I was saying. You are going to fight Naraku under different circumstances than you will expect, and I'm not about to give away the lovely surprise. But little brother, instead of worrying about my killing you, work _with _me to kill Naraku. I have no intention to kill you in the past. Maybe hurt you bad, shake you up, even scare your priestess here, but I wouldn't kill you. And if I did, I'd bring you back with my sword. Kagome, protect your two other human friends. Train yourself, and ask that old priestess to train you in the acts of healing, you'll need them if you want to be able to save your human friends. I…believe that's all I need to tell you, Priestess. The rest is business that my brother and I have. If you will, my lovely wife needs company." Sesshoumaru said in a very suave voice, nodding to Kagome, who looked at Inuyasha, bewildered as she had been the night before. She swiftly kissed him on the cheek, keeping her hand holding tightly to his until she had walked to the point to where both their arms extended, and she could no longer hold on. She was being torn away from him, almost. Kagome exited the room slowly, shutting the doors, closing them and collapsing against them afterwards. She and Inuyasha had died, were dead. This was unbelievable. She was dead. Inuyasha was dead. The man that she loved more than her own life itself, dead. Gone. Nothing but a memory…and yet, the Sesshoumaru that she had thought to be never forgivable wanted to give them a chance. Why hadn't he revived them with his sword in the past? She was confused. Visiting with Rin would be refreshing…and she would be able to ask questions. She needed to ask those questions…badly.

* * *

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru said, standing up, walking over to his half brother stiffly. "You need to mate the girl as soon as possible. Mark her, even. She died because Naraku mated her, and it was against her will. You died trying to avenge her. If you mark her, Naraku can't have her, and I won't lose you. I can tell you a lot more. Naraku is going to threaten almost all of the strong demon leaders' territories. We all are going to band together in a war. You had better fight with us. You didn't the first time around, and it lead to your priestess's death, as well as yours." Sesshoumaru sighed deeply, taking a deep breath after. "There is so much to tell you that I cannot. I can only hope that you live and change everything. I can only hope that Naraku doesn't know that we are here this very moment, telling you everything." Inuyasha released a growl, finally being audible.

"You mean to tell me that I failed in killing that bastard after he killed my Kagome?" Inuyasha's eyes turned red. Sesshoumaru chuckled.

"Inuyasha, settle down. You need to keep your head on straight. You killed him, yes. But he called upon Kagura and took her over after you had been long dead. The monk's void devoured him after it took in Sango. Shippo here came to me. I of course took him in as my own son. He and Rin grew up together. Once Rin was of age, I made sure that she shared the feelings for me that I felt for her and mated her. No one was ever able to kill Naraku. No one ever succeeded…" Sesshoumaru shook his head, closing his eyes. Shippo sat in a chair near one of the larger bookshelves, his eyes closed and arms crossed. Were it not for the orange hair, one could have mistaken him for Inuyasha.

"What exactly does this note have in it?" Inuyasha sneered, disappointed in himself. He couldn't even kill the bastard that killed Kagome. It pissed him the hell off.

"Just that I need to keep my promise to myself true. You wouldn't understand, Inuyasha, and I don't intend on explaining anything to you. Just give me the damn note in the past." Sesshoumaru sneered right back, rolling his eyes. He was sick of his brother's attitude. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go chat with your priestess. You'll probably want to come with me, jealous mutt." Sesshoumaru laughed, and walked out of the room.

"I'm not a jealous…" Inuyasha snarled, racing after his brother, angrily. _So, the bastard **has **changed…_

* * *

Kagome sat at the bar, looking over at a now of age Rin. She brought the cup of green tea up to her lips, taking a tiny sip before sitting it back down.

"So, you mean to tell me, that Naraku killed us all?" Kagome finally ended up choking out, and Rin nodded, weakly.

"I can't remember it very well, I was too small. I was as small as you remember me, maybe a year or so older, I don't know. I do, however, remember Sesshoumaru crying when he found you and Inuyasha's bodies. It was terrible. Jaken led me away and let Sesshoumaru have his time. I assume that he tried to revive you with the Tensaiga, but it didn't work, or something of the sort. I really don't know." Rin sighed, shaking her head, taking a small bite of her rice. That _had _been a terrible time for everyone. The monk and the slayer had gotten married and were about ready to start a family, when Naraku came back, and the monk's wind tunnel devoured he and his wife. Sesshoumaru and Koga had both been a wreck, and there was much more fighting than usual in the territories. The village had been devastated…the one that Inuyasha and Kagome protected. Kaede died soon after in a battle, trying to keep a demon from coming into the village. It had been hell on a stick.

"I'm so sorry that I..we caused so much suffering." Kagome closed her eyes. _It was all me. Had I not died, Inuyasha wouldn't have died, and no one would have suffered. It's all my fault. _She shook her head, looking up at Rin, taking another drink of her tea. She hated this all.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't help what happened. I don't think you were willingly raped…it's not possible." Rin said in a low tone, and Kagome jerked into consciousness. What had she just said? Kagome stared, wide eyed, at Rin. How could she know… "Kagome, I wasn't supposed to tell you that, but since you know, if you swear to keep it a secret, I can tell you. You died because you didn't want to be Naraku's mate. When at least one demon, and another being, be it a human, hanyou, or full demon, are in love, and wish to become mates, the female has a choice. If anything happens to the female, implying you know what, then the female can either live, knowing that they will never be able to be with the one they love, or die. You chose to die, and frankly, I don't blame you. Inuyasha killed Naraku, then died soon after. Sesshoumaru says it was from his wounds, but he has been much worse. He died because he couldn't stand to live without you, Kagome. Remember, this is a secret." Rin said, quietly, putting her hand over Kagome's. Kagome let a few tears escape. Inuyasha couldn't live without her. She chose to die instead of being without him. They were meant to be.

Just as Kagome opened her mouth to speak, Sesshoumaru burst through the swinging door, laughing loudly. Inuyasha followed, scowling.

"I am not jealous, ya bastard!" Inuyasha shouted, glaring into Sesshoumaru's head.

"Yeah, you're not jealous, and I'm mated to your priestess. Bull fuckin' shit, Inuyasha. Little brother, you've got a lot to learn." Sesshoumaru laughed, sitting down in one of the chairs next to Rin, his arm going around her waist. Inuyasha simply rolled his eyes.

"Fuckin'…hypocrite." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath, going and sitting next to Kagome, poking her in the arm. "You ok, 'gome?" He asked, rubbing her arm softly, as Kagome nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just thinkin' a little." She said, smiling at him. Inuyasha 'keh'ed, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his finger tips resting softly at the grey hoodie fabric.

"Thinking? That's a new one, wench. I thought you were too damn stupid to do anything that complicated." Kagome glared at Inuyasha the second he got 'wench' out, pulling out of his hold. "I was kidding, gah, take a joke!" Inuyasha laughed fakely, wincing. He would pay for that later…

"Let's go home, Inuyasha." Kagome bit out, avoiding him. "Rin, Sesshoumaru, thank you so much for having us over. I really appreciate it, but I'll let Inuyasha speak for himself." She bit out, venom streaming from her words and into Inuyasha's bloodstream. "We'll have to get in touch next time we're home. Thanks again!" She smiled, getting up and giving Rin a hug, and being pulled into a hug by Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha growled while Sesshoumaru smiled over Kagome's shoulder.

"You wanted to leave, Kagome, c'mon." Inuyasha tapped his foot in the sandal and rolled his eyes. Romu walked into the kitchen and smiled, leading the couple out to the limo, and letting them in for a silent ride home, with Kagome sitting near the front of the limo, her arms crossed, and Inuyasha in the back, his arms also crossed.

* * *

When they arrived at the shrine, Kagome quickly exited the limo, thanking Romu for the ride, and headed inside. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, rushing after her, barely having time to wave at Romu. The door of Kagome's room slammed shut with a rather loud 'thud', and the small lock worked it's way shut just as Inuyasha reached the door, trying at the door knob.

"Kagome, c'mon! You know it was a joke!" Inuyasha shouted, pressing himself against the door softly. Kagome's laugh was heard from inside.

"Inuyasha, you're not coming in. And, if it was a joke, then why did you look so serious?" Inuyasha made a face. He had been joking, and she knew it. This pissed him off a bit.

"Kagome, let me in, or I'll break the damn door down." Inuyasha simply growled. Kagome laughed again.

"Not going to answer my question, then?" Inuyasha simply punched the door, causing the wood to splinter.

"Kagome…" He growled, and heard Kagome's footsteps, then the sound of her delicate hands working the lock, then her footsteps again. The doorknob turned freely. He flung the now fragile door opened, stepping into the room. "You _know _I was joking, wench." Inuyasha growled, and Kagome just stared at him.

"Why do you call me that?" Kagome asked, completely dumbfounded. A few hours ago, she had been so sure he had loved her.

"Because, Kagome, when it's not meant in a mean way, it's what demons call those who they wish to mate. _That's why._" Inuyasha glared at her, grabbing Tetsuiaga and his fire rat robes, walking quickly out of his room, slamming the bathroom door. Kagome's mouth formed a small 'o', as a sigh escaped herself. Why had she been so moody lately? Inuyasha loved her. He had practically just said it, and yet, she always found something wrong with him. Or, something she _thought _was wrong. Then, the girl blinked, thinking again. She sunk down onto the bed, fear consuming herself. _I…I might be…pregnant._

* * *

Hehehehehehehehe…don't worry, you guys might not hate me for long. This idea just popped into my head last night, and I'm glad that FF(dot)net is being a poo and not letting me sign on to post this. I'm going to start writing the next chapter as soon as I finish this a/n, and try and post this one. I'd like to once again thank all my reviewers. Please, review after you read, it makes me want to write more. Thanks!

Amasti: Dance. Is. Evil…EARLY…

Yes, it's early. Which reminds me, I might be a bit non existent for about a week or so starting June 8th, for my own reasons.

Amasti: She has dance camp. She's planning on sleeping for an entire day afterwards, as well.

Yeah…well….bye!


	12. A Test, A Kiss, and A Scream

I'm back. Dance Team practice is swallowing me whole, and what other time I have left is spent on sleeping, eating, reading others' fanfiction, etc., so…yeah. I'll try and get this out soon, and I have a feeling it won't be as long as my others have been. I know exactly what I want out of the beginning of this chapter, but as for the end…well…I have NO clue, whatsoever. I'm going to try and finish this and at least start another chapter before I disappear for a week. (dance Camp)

OBMcKenzie: Thank you so much:Blushes: I'm flattered….I really like your style of writing, too, but this is not the place to complement that. I'm starting to gather myself to one big twist to work towards in this story, but other than that, I don't know where it's going, either! Heh.. o.o;;

angelXofXpeace: I torture you because it's my JOB, even if I am a summer bum.

Koriat: I like you. You make me chuckle. Worry not…

Thanks to all my other reviews as well. Your praise is what gets me 'ta writin'. Really, it is. That, and my major boredom waves.

* * *

Kagome's eyes darted around the room. What would she do? Surely Inuyasha would reject her if she was pregnant. That was…something that couldn't happen. She loved Inuyasha too much to lose him. She would be nothing without him. A silly little school girl with a baby and no family, no friends. Her family might as well abandon her if she was pregnant, they would be looked down on until the child was grown if she were to give birth to it. Her mind raced back to Inuyasha. Just seconds ago, though it seemed like months, he had said that he wanted to take her as his mate. From what she new, mating was the demon form of marrying, or at least, she guessed as so. And to marry, two people had to be in love. If Inuyasha loved her, it would never change…_that's not true. He'll think that…he'll think that I chose this. _Kagome looked at the door, tears streaming down her face.

"It's…not fair…" She whispered, biting her lip to keep from sobbing aloud. She hated everything, now. The world was being cruel. She ached, both her body and her soul. Her very existence hurt. Everything she knew and loved was crumbling down around her. Now, all she had to do was break herself entirely and take the pregnancy test. Kagome shook her head at herself. No use. She knew what was going on inside of her, and it hurt her. She would love the child, yes, but loathe it at the same time.

Inuyasha stood outside of the door, hearing Kagome's laboured breathing, smelling the strong scent of her tears. _What is going on…_He sighed, straightened up, and walked into the room, staring at Kagome after he was inside the room. _She's crying…it's because of me…because I told her…_ Inuyasha coughed, swallowing down a large lump in his throat. Kagome was hurting because of him, or so he thought. Inuyasha walked over to the bed, sitting down beside Kagome, touching her arm softly. The want to mark her was stronger than ever, but Inuyasha couldn't. She was too vulnerable, too delicate. He didn't want to risk losing her.

Kagome crumpled into him at that simple touch. She sobbed loudly, clutching the red kimono, burying her head into his chest. Inuyasha's eyes opened, as he wrapped his arms around her, completely confused. This couldn't be about what he had said earlier. She would be avoiding him completely, disgusted at the fact that he, a half breed, filthy and dirty, had said that to her. This was about something else…the rape, possibly? Inuyasha's heart softened. He remembered that he would kill the bastard that had done that to her. He was just thankful that there had been no change in her scent. That would mean the bastard had done the unthinkable. Kagome was still his innocent little girl. He hugged her even more tightly as she sobbed, her entire body shaking. Inuyasha stroked the girl's hair, then rubbed her back, shoulders, and finally arms in an attempt to stop her crying, but nothing worked. He finally put her down on the bed, softly, and quickly rushed across the room, shutting the door. Kagome's sobs continued for a few more minutes, seaming like hours and days to Inuyasha. She only let go of him that once when he went to shut the door, and that mere moment had scared her. She could have sworn he was getting up and leaving. Surely he could smell it on her. Her fear, her anxiety…her pregnancy. The thought tore her up inside. Her heart was being ripped to tiny, microscopic pieces, and she doubted that they would ever be fully recovered. She was going to lose Inuyasha, her love. Every time the thought crossed her mind, she cried harder. Inuyasha kissed the top of her head, stroking her back again.

_What the hell is going on! _He felt helpless and small. Inuyasha hadn't felt like this since…his mother. He'd never seen Kagome so upset, not even after he…found her. Inuyasha shook his head, bringing his hand under Kagome's chin, lifting it to look her in the eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to pull away, but Inuyasha forced her to look at him again.

"Kagome, what is going on? Why are you so upset?" Inuyasha stared into her deep brown orbs. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face was tinted a nice color red because of all of her crying. Kagome simply looked at him, thinking, again.

"I need…" She shook her head. It was useless to tell Inuyasha what was going on. She doubted that she would even be able to tell him if she wasn't pregnant. She simply kissed Inuyasha softly on the cheeks, whispering that she'd be back, and rushed off to the bathroom. If she was lucky, her mom would still have pregnancy tests.

Lady Luck favored Kagome that day. In the back of the cabinet under the sink, there it was, a thin pink box with Japanese symbols on it. Kagome's hands shook as she read it. This was it. Kagome pulled out one of the small packets…only to be inturupted.

"'SIS! I GOTTA PEE!" Souta screamed, pounding on the door. Kagome jerked out of her world of pregnancy, shoving the box back into the cabinet.

"Hang on!" She shouted, composing herself, walking up to the door. She smiled, unlocking the door, opening it. Souta squirmed as she got out of the way, then darted into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Kagome shuddered. She had been so close to finding out the truth…she felt tears again. The girl darted towards her room, blinking quickly. She needed Inuyasha. She needed him to get through this. Even if he would end up leaving her, she needed to be with Inuyasha for as long as possible. Kagome opened her door and shut it, collapsing on the floor. She closed here eyes. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't allow it. Inuyasha walked over to the girl, standing her up.

"Kagome, tell me what's wrong." Inuyasha demanded, placing his hands both firmly and comfortingly on Kagome's shoulders. She whimpered in reply. "There is NOTHING different. Your scent is still the same. You look the same. You're still perfect, Kagome." Inuyasha bit out, as Kagome's eyes widened. Could he smell pregnancy? She sure thought he could…it would only be logical! He would be able to smell a different body inside of her own…Kagome's eyes lit up with hope.

"I…Inuyasha, are you sure that n-none of me has changed? Especially not my scent?" Kagome asked, shaking. Inuyasha blinked, looking at the girl, then inhaled for a long time, exhaling much more quickly.

"Nothing." He said, quietly, as Kagome threw her arms around his neck. There was hope. Hope that she wouldn't lose him, hope that she wasn't pregnant. Inuyasha blinked in confusion, wrapping his arms around her back happily. She was excited, he could smell it. The scent of anxiousness was still there, and he could still smell fear, but the sadness was gone. Entirely. Inuyasha pulled Kagome's body against his own, inhaling her scent. It was so intoxicating, and that hadn't changed. He thought back to what Sesshoumaru had said. He needed to mark her. But wouldn't she freak out if she found out that he was going to have to bite her, break her skin, and then drink some of her blood, then in turn mix some of his blood with hers? He still had to figure out what had her so worked up, AND read that diary. _The diary can wait._ He decided for himself, looking down at Kagome. "Are you going to tell me why you're so happy all of a sudden?" He asked her, scratching her sides softly with his claws. Kagome tensed up, and giggled.

"No…not right now." She whispered, kissing him softly, then wriggling out of his grasp, slowly walking to the bathroom. She was so happy. She wasn't pregnant, well, maybe. All she needed was to pee on the stupid little piece of plastic to be sure of it. Kagome opened the door and shut it, being sure to lock it, and grabbed around under the sink until her hands hit the little card board box. This was the moment of truth.

* * *

Miroku sighed, looking at Sango incriminatingly. Sango simply blinked back.

"Kagome and Inuyasha." Miroku mumbled quietly, and Sango smiled, her brown eyes sparkling.

"Are better together than Kikyo and Inuyasha." She finished his sentence in her own opinion, and the monk laughed.

"I believe that you are correct in that decision, Sango." Miroku said, shifting his staff on his lap. Miroku's hand reached up as he scratched the back of his neck. Kaede had left about an hour or so ago, and had taken Shippo with her to a neighboring village. Kirara had gone off, more like been dragged off, to play with some of the village children a few moments ago as well, so the monk and the slayer were left all alone. Their entire time alone had been spent silently, one staring at the other until the one being stared at looked, then, it switched. Miroku gulped down a lump in his throat and stared at Sango. "So, what do you think you'll do after we defeat Naraku?" Miroku asked, his violet eyes burning holes in Sango.

"Well, uh, I guess Kohaku and I will most likely re-build the village. I really don't want to leave you…all, but, I guess that'll have to happen." Sango said, forcing it to leave her lips smoothly. She quickly added in 'all' in an effort to cover herself. It was almost too hard for her to resist simply walking over and embracing Miroku. "You?" She asked suavely, composing herself as quickly as she could…or at least, she had been, until Miroku walked over and sat near her. _DAMN HIM!_

Miroku simply rested his head against the wall near Sango, closing his eyes. "I don't know what I'll be doing or where I'll be." Miroku mumbled quietly, looking over at Sango after a few moments passed, mentally smiling. _She's cracking…_

_Damn him! Damn him damn him damn him! _Sango mentally screamed, finding herself being drawn to Miroku. If he was only a few inches further from her, she would be fine…she inhaled the air. She could smell him, he was so close. Sango shook her head at herself composing herself. She smiled. She could turn this on him, no problem.

"Miroku, have I ever told you how laid back I am?" Sango asked, an evil grin residing on her face the entire time. Miroku's eyes widened, looking at her as he shook his head. Sango chuckled. "Ah, yes. Back in the village, I wouldn't ever make the first…uh…move on any boys." She smiled, lying, biting her lip. She couldn't laugh at Miroku's expression.

Miroku screamed mentally. _She twisted this against me! _

Sango's smile widened as she stared at Miroku. _What do you think of **that**, monk? _She asked herself mentally, smiling. This was almost too fun, and she had nothing to lose. The worst that could happen…Sango blinked. What _was_ the worst that could happen? Miroku kissing her was **defiantly **not a bad thing. Sango smiled, then mentally slapped herself. She was looking forward to this…

Miroku snapped his fingers in front of Sango's eyes to try and gain her attention. Sango shook to awareness, staring into the deep purple pools.

"His eyes are beautiful…" Sango mumbled quietly, not meaning to say it out loud, but Miroku heard it. The beautiful violet eyes blinked at the girl.

"'Ya really think so?" He asked, smiling, and placing his hand safely on her shoulder, a genuine smile shining from his face. Sango's eyes widened as she chuckled quietly, a deep red shade taking over her face.

"Uh…" The girl bit her lip as Miroku's smile faded to a mischievous smirk, his hand slowly raising from her shoulder to cup the side of her cheek. Sango froze.

"Sango, you truly are beautiful." The monk whispered, leaning in, close to the girl, maintaining mere centimeters between the two. Sango held her breath. She was going to kiss Miroku, Sango was going to kiss Miroku…SHE WAS GOING TO KISS MIROKU! She was surprised that her head didn't just explode right atop her shoulders at that very second. Miroku chuckled, closing his eyes slowly and pressing his dry lips against Sango's soft pink ones, wrapping his free arm around her neck.

Sango's eyes widened. She was kissing Miroku. _I'M KISSING **MIROKU**! _After wrapping her arms instinctively around Miroku's neck and holding to him for dear life, she daintily let her mouth open to Miroku's exploring tongue.

After a few seconds Sango pulled away, gasping for air, as Miroku pressed his forehead against hers. Both smiled contently.

"Would you believe me if I told you that was my first kiss?" Miroku asked passively, smirking at Sango.

"No." Sango whispered, still holding to the back of his robes behind his neck. Miroku shook his head at the girl and kissed the tip of her nose softly.

"Well, Miss Sango, you'd better start believing me." He said quietly, pulling her into his lap, leaning against the wall sleepily. As Miroku drifted off into a peaceful slumber, Sango was stuck, in his lap, her mind racing, her body begging for movement. She was on a total adrenalin high. But still, it was nice to be held like this. At least she knew the monk cared…

* * *

Kagome's screech was heard through the entire household, though only Inuyasha was close enough to react. The hanyou, who had been peacefully sleeping on the girls bed, jolted up and through the hall, colliding with the bathroom door. As he attempted to rip the knob off in vein, Inuyasha asked Kagome, 'calmly', what was going on.

"Kagome! Let me in the damn room and tell me why the hell you screamed!" Inuyasha shouted, slaming his own body against the door.

So much for calmly.

* * *

And so, it's finally done and over with. Yes, I know. So much shorter, and I really am sorry. But my friend that goes to see his dad in the summer (his dad lives in Texas) is on, and we're going to cokemusic(dot)com, and it'll be fun…yeah. So, regarding the SangoxMiroku kiss. Too early? Well, I told my friend Mackenzie (SpottedLionHanyou) about the even thought of having the two kiss, and her exact words were "Can you say MOUTH ORGY CITY?"…XD Wow, I love Mackenzie. She's great. But I'm sorry I didn't get this out before camp, and it feels SSSSOOOO good to be up late and writing again. But, h'anyways, I think I'm done taking up space. Thanks, once again, to my loyal reviewers. And sorry about the cliffy…:Smirketh: You'll love me in the end…don't worry. 


	13. The Mark

Hi everybody. Review replies, then story. Chop Chop, I know.

Bookwormjavajunkie: YouCool You're right, she's not. On the 'his' topic…well… -sigh/smirk- And no, it's _not _too late…yet. See, when 'that person' raped her, he didn't mark her. –Smirk- And if that didn't just give it away, I don't know how else to but to install bright flashing lights in the chapter, reading "insert name is the rapist!" I just want to hug you. -hugs you- NOW STOP THINKING SO HARD!

Amasti: She should stop dancing. –nod- maybe we can work together and get her to stop.

"Nameless" (Muahaha person): Well, keep in mind, that Sesshoumaru has been through 500 years.

InuYashaTetsuaiga140: Hehe, you'll need more pitchforks then torches. See, I like fire. .

Koriat: I actually don't think I've had any before this. And if I did, it was very, very minor.

ForeverLuv: Tee. Hee. You're great. –hugeth-

inuyashatotallyobsessed (): You are an angel, thank you so much. I was so excited when I finally found out that someone had answered my question. –bear hug- and you'll just have to see…-mischievous smirk- Once again, thanks so much!

Thanks to the other reviewers!

* * *

Kagome hopped into the bathtub, completely afraid. She stared at the pregnancy test…or the small black creature right besides it. Inuyasha continued to pound at the door.

"Kagome!" He shouted, as the door started to splinter. Kagome jumped, and leapt over to the door, unlocking it and scrambling out of the room, or at least trying. Colliding with Inuyasha's chest on her way out, the girl fell backwards, landing flat on her butt. A loud whine came from her as she slowly calmed down, then remembered the spider, and scooted herself around Inuyasha, clutching onto his leg. "Kagome, what the hell has gotten into you!" Inuyasha asked, looking down at the girl.

"It's a bug!" She screamed, as Inuyasha rolled his eyes, picking up the small black spider and smashing it between his fingers. Kagome let out a sigh of relief, then leapt over Inuyasha, grabbing the pregnancy test and swinging it behind her back, giggling nervously. "That's...err...all?" the girl giggled again, giving the hanyou a "please leave me alone for a while" look, but Inuyasha didn't take any of it.

"...wench, what was that?" He eyed the arm that held the pregnancy test. Kagome blushed.

"None of your business." Kagome stated firmly, as Inuyasha blinked.

"Kagome…it _is _my business." The angry half demon growled, as Kagome simply stared at him. "It is not!" Her eyes screamed at him as she started to push him out of the door. The disgruntled hanyou rolled his eyes, walking out of the room, pulling the door shut with him. Kagome sighed in relief.

"Now that that's over with..." Kagome took a deep breath and held it, pulling the pregnancy test from behind her back, she took small piece of plastic from within the thin wrapper, and studied the strip of color. Relief came over her. Her fears had been wrong, completely wrong…and what had she gained from it? Well, a good cry and being held by Inuyasha, for one. The girl wrapped up the test, throwing it in the trash, wadding up toilet paper to cover it, just in case someone decided to inspect the trash while...taking care of business. All was good again.

* * *

Miroku's eyes fluttered open to the dim light of the hut, the fire reduced to mere coals. He blinked, noticing that someone was the weight in his lap. His mind registered the extra weight and heat as the girl he loved as he smiled. Tightening his grip on the girl, he pulled her flush against his chest, content. He had kissed Sango, and she had kissed him back. _Thank Buddha.. _he thought silently to himself, surveying Sango's peaceful expression.

Miroku's eyes scanned the dark room as he was sure he felt himself blush. Kaede was laid out on her futon, sleeping like nothing was happening, Shippo curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed. Kirara slept next to him. They all had seen him holding Sango like this. He blushed more. Sango shifted in his arms, in his lap, as Miroku froze. She couldn't wake, he wasn't ready to let go of her. Sango incoherently mumbled something then snuggled herself back against Miroku's chest. He let out a sigh of relief, running his fingers against the ends of Sango's hair.

_OK, Reviewing. Sango more likely than not has feelings for me. Gooooood. _Miroku smiled. _Now I simply have to win her heart. This may mean…giving up my ways. _Miroku shuddered, studying his hand. _Giving up **the hand's **ways, not my own. Not that I don't enjoy feeling Sango's hind quarters. I hate to be slapped, however… _At that thought, Miroku fell back to sleep.

* * *

Kagome collapsed onto her bed, sleepy all of a sudden. Inuyasha's ears flicked.

"Wench." He said, letting her know that she had collapsed atop him. She didn't care. Her brown pools looked up at him.

"Hmm?" She asked, letting her lack of concern be known. Inuyasha sighed, shaking his body, trying to get Kagome off of him. He still wanted to know what she had been so worked up about, but her laying atop him wasn't doing any good. Sure, it was nice, but…

"Wench, really. If you're going to lay, lay beside me." He said firmly, scooting against the wall. Kagome sighed and lifted herself up, scooting next to him, laying her forehead against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Gonna tell me why you were freaking out earlier?" He asked. Kagome froze.

"A spider was in the bathroom." She said, plainly. Inuyasha blinked at her and brought his arms around her, pulling the girl's upper half against his chest, also giving him a nice chin rest.

"Not what I meant, Kagome. What was that little white thingey?" He asked, completely bewildered. Kagome flushed, snuggling against his chest.

"'S not really important." She choked out, staring at the blood red kimono. Inuyasha's chest rumbled in a growl, as Kagome giggled. The vibrations against her ear tickled. Inuyasha growled louder.

"Then tell me." Golden eyes bore down upon Kagome as she sighed and shook her head.

"No, Inuyasha. I'm not going to tell you." Kagome said firmly, and Inuyasha sighed, getting a distressed look upon his face. _Wench…doesn't trust me._ Inuyasha let a small 'keh!' escape before he sat up rudely, bringing his arms to his sleeves and pouting. Kagome shook her head and re-positioned herself against the pouting hanyou's arm, closing her eyes, entirely at peace. Inuyasha was unhappy with her, but she wasn't sure she could explain how peeing on a little plastic stick would tell her if she was pregnant or not to Inuyasha _just _yet. She sighed again. Inuyasha was just too much.

_I love him so much. He…might love me back. No, Kagome. Don't get your hopes up. He still…loves Kikyo. Then why'd he try and destroy her! _Kagome sighed aloud, then shivered. Inuyasha shook his head and removed his outer kimono, draping it over the shivering priestess's shoulders. Kagome jolted from her thoughts, looking up at Inuyasha.

"You'll get sick, wench." He said harshly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her upper arm. Kagome smiled and leaned her head against Inuyasha's chest, which was now unprotected by the pouting arms. Inuyasha shook his head, inhaling her scent deeply. He was going to follow Sesshoumaru's instructions, maybe not exactly, but he was going to follow them. Inuyasha wasn't going to return to the feudal era until he had marked Kagome. However, this would require…explaining. Inuyasha's eye twitched.

_Stupid half breed, she'll reject you. All other humans have._

Inuyasha's human mind growled at the demon side. _Sesshoumaru said she chose death. She would rather die than be without being my mate. The choice of death isn't possible unless the female is pledged to a male already. She is pledged to me. _Inuyasha's demon side slapped him.

_Bull shit! She couldn't pledge herself to a filthy half breed like you. No other humans, save mother, have ever cared. And mother is gone._

Inuyasha sighed again, then jumped at the feel of Kagome's finger tips at his cheek.

"You alright?" She asked quietly, stroking his face softly. Inuyasha simply melted on the inside, but kept composed on the outside. He nodded and sighed again. "No you're not. Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked and the hanyou shook his head. _She's **got **to love me. I mean, she just has to. There's no other explanation for…everything. Especially her staying by my side. _Both sides agreed for once. Inuyasha sighed loudly.

"Not really." He sighed again and bit the side of his cheek, causing it to bleed. "But I have to. Kagome, there's something I've got to do before we can go back to the Feudal Era. This is very important." Inuyasha closed his eyes, though he felt Kagome's stare burning holes in his eyelids.

"This has to do with Naraku, doesn't it?" She asked innocently, as Inuyasha's eyes shot open. He smiled, revealing his fangs.

"You eavesdropper." He smiled and kissed her forehead, but Kagome pulled away from him.

"Nothing of the sort!" She laughed and blushed, then let her lids droop. "Rin told me…everything. About how I chose to die and...I mean, I'm not afraid of that, but…" Kagome pressed her lips tightly together, closing her eyes tightly. "Inuyasha, I don't want that to happen. I can't let everyone suffer just because of me. But I can't…not Naraku…I…Inuyasha, you've got to understand." She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes, as Inuyasha held her tighter, shaking his head, smiling at thegirl in his arms. _I have to do this. Have to. _Inuyasha swallowed a large lump in his throat, lowering his lips to her ear.

"Kagome, I understand. We can prevent this. Stop it from happening. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. I can protect you…that is, if you let me." Inuyasha whispered, his breath tickling Kagome's ear. Of course she would let him protect her…she couldn't go through it again. Kagome turned her head and stared at Inuyasha.

"Of course I'll let you protect me, Inuyasha. I…" She choked. "I can't do this again." Tears streamed down the young priestess's face.

"I don't think you understand what I'm asking, Kagome." Inuyasha bit out, trying to get this over with. The wench was rejecting him. He closed his eyes.

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?" She asked, wiping her tears from her eyes. She stared at his closed eyelids. Inuyasha inhaled deeply.

"FormetobeabletoprotectyouI'dhavetomarkyouasmymateandIdon'tthinkyoureallywantthatbutifyoudon'tthen—" Inuyasha tried to get it all out as one word, but Kagome cut in.

"I'd like to be able to understand you, Inuyasha." She whispered, blinking at him, innocently. She truly had no idea. Inuyasha growled, getting frustrated.

"For me to be able to protect you…" he took another deep breath. "I'dhavetomarkyouasmymate." He looked away, waiting to be sat to the other side of the earth. …_c'mon Kagome, don't keep me waiting. _As arms excitedly wrapped around his neck, Inuyasha's eyes widened. _What? She's not disgusted? _Inuyasha looked at the girl who was now hugging him, as if she would just disappear if he let go.

"That's kind of like marriage, right?" Kagome asked into Inuyasha's neck, and he nodded.

"Yeah…kind of. But it's more serious. Kagome, if we do this, it's forever." He said quietly, looking at the girl's back, holding her at the waist. Kagome pulled away to look into his eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked, now staring into his amber eyes. _What does me mean, forever? _Then it hit her. She would die before he would. Way before. Her heart started to ache immediately.

"As long as we both live, in this case, as long as I live, we'll be together. There's no going back, Kagome." Her eyes twinkled.

"Inuyasha, I'd die way before you, though." Tears surfaced again, as Inuyasha laughed.

"Not true. If I marked you, you'd be mine, but you'd still age normally. If we…err…_mated_, you'd age as slowly as me. That's one of the few things I do remember my mother explaining to me." He smiled at the girl, but found that she was crying now. He frowned. _She doesn't want to live with me forever. I can't blame her. I'm just a filth- _"oof!" Inuyasha muttered as Kagome launched herself at the hanyou, snuggling herself into him.

"Of course I will, Inuyasha." She whispered, smiling as she death-grip hugged the boy once again. Inuyasha smiled and wrapped his arms around the girl's back, smashing her torso into his own, stroking her hair. _See? She did accept me. _Inuyasha's human side paraded around inside of his head, while the demon side sat, scowling. Still happy, but nevertheless, still scowling.

Inuyasha's demon side took over, as he felt the need to mark her as soon as he could. He knew he would have to stop after marking her, for she was still too fearful and shaken up from being raped. Inuyasha's hands moved up her back to the sides of her face, pulling her to look at her for a split second, then kissed her passionately. Kagome was shocked, but melted into Inuyasha's arms. She was putty in his hands. Inuyasha rolled the two over on the small mattress, laying atop the girl, resting his weight on his arms. As Inuyasha lowered his mouth to Kagome's neck, he breathed on the spot where he would mark her. Kagome shivered and giggled lightly under his breath, reaching for his hand with her own.

"This is gonna hurt a little, Kagome." He whispered, as he lowered his fangs upon her skin, piercing it. Kagome yelped quietly, grasping his hand. A little was quite the understatement. Inuyasha retreated, staring at his mark. Blood slowly seeped from the two fang marks, as they were already bruising. He softly lowered his lips to the mark,wiping away theblood slowly."It's over." He whispered, nuzzling the right side of her neck, as not to irritate the new mark. All of a sudden, Kagome was exhausted. She looked down at Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, I…" A yawn interrupted her, but Inuyasha barged in before she could recover.

"Kagome…I love you." He whispered, kissing her softly on the nose. "Now sleep, wench." He mumbled quietly, once again rolling over, laying Kagome's weary body atop his. She fell directly asleep, completely oblivious to Inuyasha's hand, softly touching the dark, bruised mark. His mark. _My mark._ The half demon smiled, and touched the same spot on his neck, knowing that an identical mark had already surfaced. Inuyasha deeply inhaled Kagome's hair, smiling. _Mine._ And at that, he fell asleep.

* * *

Sango's eyes opened to the bright light of the midday. She blinked, finding herself covered in a large cloak…Miroku's robes. Sango's eyes widened. If she was under Miroku's robes…

"Gotcha." Miroku said quietly. "I'm not naked under those, you do know." The monk smirked, pointing at a loose, white haori and black pants, almost matching Inuyasha's. Sango stared, then wrapped herself up in the robes.

"…pervert." She managed to hiss out before becoming enveloped in the strong scent of Miroku that was streaming off of the robes around her. She melted into the scent, smiling.

"Shippo and Kaede are gone again." He said, smirking mischievously. Sango smirked back.

"If you want another kiss, monk, you're going to have to work for it." Sango bit out, standing up and walking out of the hut, bringing the robes along with her. She needed to go soak in the hot springs. Miroku spying on her was a chance she was willing to take. Sango smiled. Oh, she had so much to tell Kagome when she got back.

* * *

"Kagome, it's morning." Kagome's mother's voice said quietly, the volume softly ringing through the air. Kagome's eyes opened as the door 'clicked' shut, as she looked down at the hanyou below her. He was sleeping. A throbbing pain hit the left side of her neck as she slowly reached up and touched it. The mark. It had all been real. She and Inuyasha were mated…well…somewhat. She went back to staring at _her _hanyou. Why did that sound so right?

After taking a few minutes to wriggle out of his grasp, Kagome quietly walked out of the room, fixing her hair to cover the mark. Her mother would probably freak if she told her. When she told her. Breakfast sounded great right now.

* * *

I know, it's short again. I'm very sorry. Please forgive me for any spelling errors. I really need an editor, see, I just can't bring myself to send these tomy old editorany more, I havn't been, either. Don't ask me why, because I don't know either. So, if anyone is interested in editing for me, just leave your email in your reply (In form of youremailaddress(at)whatever(dot)blah) and we'll be in touch. XD Why do I feel so formal doing this? 


	14. A Bet and Big Brother

Review Replies, are now being moved to the bottom of your screen. Why, you may ask? I dunno, I felt like it.

* * *

Kagome smiled, as her mom sat down to a large American style breakfast in front of her. She was even going to use a fork and spoon! Kagome squealed in excitement and started to dig into her hash browns, while Souta sat on the other side of the table, filling his mouth past full with scrambled eggs. An American breakfast was a HUGE deal in the Higurashi house.

"Mmmmm, thanks so much mom!" Kagome said after swallowing a large bite of the browned potatoes, then looked up at her mother, causing her neck to sting with pain. _Ok, I guess there's no sudden movements of my head from now on._ Kagome thought silently to herself, taking a bite of her ham. _Sooo good!_

Just as Kagome let another squeak of contentment out, Inuyasha appeared at the doorway, his hair also covering the mark. He had figured that if Kagome wanted to tell her mother, then she would tell her mother.

"Oh, Inuyasha, hello! I made a huge American breakfast, why don't you have some? Either way, we'll be swimming in leftovers for a month." Mrs. Higurashi smiled and sat another plate, napkin, fork and spoon down at the table. Inuyasha blinked at the foreign utensils oddly, poking at the spoon, with his claw. Kagome, Souta and their mother all laughed, though Kagome and Souta's laughs were mixed in with the food they had in their mouths.

Inuyasha looked up at Kagome's mother, "What is this thing?" He asked, almost disgusted, as Kagome laughed, as she placed the spoon correctly in his hand.

"It's the American chop stick. It's more convenient when you get the hang of it, but I more prefer normal chop sticks." Kagome said, smiling at him. Inuyasha rolled his eyes as Mrs. Higurashi filled his plate. He winced; this was going to be a long meal.

* * *

Sango returned to the hut, refreshed to find Miroku and Shippo playing a game of cards. She smiled and tightened Miroku's robes around her. He wasn't going to get them back, even if it meant embarrassment for herself, she wanted to give Inuyasha a chance to get back at the monk. Sango walked over and sat down half way between Miroku and Shippo, and viewed both of their hands. She smiled; Miroku's letting the little fox win, which is really cute.

"Do you want dealt in, Sango?" Miroku asked, looking rather desperate. _Maybe he wasn't letting Shippo win…_ Sango chuckled and nodded, as Shippo pouted.

"You did that because you knew I was gonna win! That's not nice Miroku!" Shippo shouted, surveying his new cards. He quickly silenced, Sango smiled, _Full house, the only way Miroku could bet this was if he cheated._ She thought, looking down at her hand of two three's and three jacks. Sango sat contentedly as the fox and monk traded out their cards, sighing after each was done. Miroku smirked, trying to make this interesting.

"I say we make a little bet," Miroku piped up, as Sango's eyes scurried over to his face. "Winner gets to make the two losers do whatever the winner wants for a day."

Sango smiled, "A day? An entire day?" The monk's bluffing, Miroku's violet eyes shone towards Sango. He wasn't bluffing, in the least bit.

Miroku smiled over the hand of five cards, _This is too good._ Miroku nodded.

"Deal!" Sango shouted, slapping her full house on the floor of the hut. "First off, Monk, you're not going to touch me at all with that hand." Sango said, but Miroku simply laughed.

"Actually, Sango, dearest, I am," he said, laying a royal flush across the floorboards. Sango froze, and Shippo giggled, putting the pair of aces he had on the floor. Sango glared, storming off out of the hut, still wrapped up in the Monk's robes.

"DAMN HIM!" She screamed as she reached the forest line. The damn monk was going to pay, she wouldn't kiss him, even if he begged her. If he uses the bet, then you'll have to. "I don't have to do anything." Sango barked at herself, hearing a chuckle.

"Sango, talking to ourselves, are we?" Inuyasha asked, then studied the girl. 'The monk's robes? Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me.' Inuyasha sniffed the air and stared at Sango more, but decided to keep quiet. Hopefully, Kagome would catch on.

"Sango, why are you wearing Miroku's robes?" She asked innocently, causing Inuyasha to laugh and Sango to scowl.

"To give YOU a chance to get back at the monk. Tear him limb from limb, I really could care less." Sango said, angrily pointing at Inuyasha, Kagome's eyes widened as she wrapped her arms a bit more securely around Inuyasha's neck. "Just to make sure you don't give me any crap, I'd like to let you know that it's alright if you carry her in your arms, not on your back when it's just me. I've already seen the mark." Sango snorted, storming off into the forest. Both faces of the young couple flamed over in a deep red blush, as Kagome scrambled to cover her mark with her hair. This would be interesting.

As they continued on towards the village, Miroku soon after came rushing by them then stopped. "Kagome! Inuyasha, great to see you." Inuyasha slipped Kagome off his back and walked over to the monk, also examining him. Then, he punched him. Miroku fell backwards, "What was that!" Miroku shouted, as Kagome glared.

"Inuyasha, SIT BOY!" She screamed.

Crash, Inuyasha groaned as his face was buried in dirt. He won't be able to smell correctly for about an hour. _Lovely, now that we're mates, Kagome is going to have to stop doing that._ Inuyasha growled, fighting the spell, and standing up immediately after being sat, angry now. He maintained his stance, even though the necklace was still pulling him downwards. "Monk, you'll know what it was for later, and if you make a remark about what it's for, I'll do it again." Inuyasha growled and scooped Kagome up into his arms, glaring at the girl before taking off running in no general direction if anywhere that Kagome knew of. She blinked, looking up at the scowling hanyou. He got angry quickly.

"Inuyasha, what's the matter with you?" Kagome shouted, as Inuyasha's ears twitched. He continued scowling into the air ahead, ignoring the girl in his arms. She will know soon enough. As Inuyasha stopped, Kagome looked around. _We're at the edge of Inuyasha's forest? No, this couldn't be right…_ The girl's eyes registered the glare that Inuyasha was bearing down upon her.

"Kagome, damn it, I can't have you doing that all the time. We're mates now, damn it." Inuyasha growled, still glaring right through the girl.

She blinked up at the hanyou. "Doing what, exactly? S-i-ting you? INUYASHA! I only s-i-t you when you deserve it, and I know what you don't want Miroku to say anything, but that was NO reason to punch him!" Kagome screamed, as Inuyasha forced his ears to stay upright. He was NOT going to fold under her anger.

"Kagome, I'm supposed to be the dominant one, and when Sesshomaru comes to "inspect" you or what the fuck ever he decides to do, then I can't have you controlling me. I know, I usually don't care what the bastard thinks, but this is important, damn it. If he doesn't fucking find you "suitable," he has the choice of KILLING YOU." Inuyasha shouted right back, as Kagome's eyes widened and she silenced. _Fuck…I shouldn't have told her that._ Inuyasha mentally slapped himself, as he looked down at Kagome. "Um Kagome?" He asked, trying to wrap his arms around her waist, but Kagome slapped his arms and pushed him away.

"So, is this how much I mean to you? You're WILLING to risk MY life, and you KNOW wouldn't be able to do ANYTHING about it! THANK YOU, INUYASHA! SIT!" The girl screamed, storming off into the forest.

Inuyasha crashed to the ground, he didn't blame her. He deserved to be sat five more times. Sure it hurt, but he had been an ass hole. Another "SIT!" came ringing from far away in the forest, as he was dragged deeper into the ground. Misery was the only feeling that Inuyasha felt. Misery, and pain.

* * *

Kagome tore through the forest, hurt and angry. No, she was far beyond angry. Pissed was an understatement. She couldn't BELIEVE the nerve of Inuyasha.

_If he doesn't fucking find you "suitable", he has the choice of KILLING YOU. _

The words ran fresh through her mind. She knew how much Sesshomaru hated her, she was done for. For the first time, she pulled her hand up to the location of the mark, and touched it, but quickly pulled away. The mark had burned her? Kagome tried to touch the mark once again, and got the same reaction. _What does this mean? Why is mark burning me? Something's wrong._ Kagome stopped for a few seconds, debating on what to do. Is Inuyasha in trouble? He had to be, that was the only explanation. She had no weapon though! Kagome ignored her feelings telling her to go back to the hut, and took off running back in the direction she had come from.

* * *

"Damn it! DAMN IT…all." Inuyasha sighed and climbed up into the nearest tree, allowing his bangs to hide his face. Why had he allowed himself to blab as so? Damn it and his lack of control of his own mouth. Sitting he could deal with. Hell, he could even deal with fighting with her as long as he knew she would come back to him eventually. Sesshomaru could KILL his girl, His woman, His Kagome. "DAMN IT!" Inuyasha screamed at the top of his lungs as his mark gave a dull throb. Kagome was feeling his distress, hopefully she knew what it meant, Inuyasha shook his head. Kagome didn't know the first thing about demon mating, accept for that it was forever, and she was part of it. "Damn," Inuyasha was flat out frustrated. He needed Kagome here, now. He just wanted to be soothed by her scent? Inuyasha sniffed the air, Kagome's scent was sprinting towards him. He blinked and dropped out of his tree, leaning against the tall tree for comfort, Inuyasha closed his eyes, taking in the ever-growing strength of Kagome's scent. Maybe this mating stuff wouldn't be so bad if it sent her running back to him every time he got frustrated.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, slowly approaching the boy. "Inuyasha, something's wrong with the mark," Kagome said quietly, looking at Inuyasha as his eyes shot open and he raced over to his mate with one leap. In one fluid motion, he had moved her hair back and was now examining the two vampire-like punctures on her neck.

"Kagome, there's nothing wrong with it." Inuyasha said quietly, taking the time to examine his mate from head to toe. There was no blood, no bruising (accept for the mark) nothing.

"No, it's burning." Kagome said quietly, tapping her scorching hot mark with her finger then quickly jumping and retrieving her hand.

Inuyasha shook his head, "That's because I'm frustrated, wench. We're linked; you'll be able to be more in tune with me if you want to call it that. I don't know, it differs with every pair, but something always happens to inform the other mate of major emotional changes. Like right now, you're pissed and worried. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. It's my instinct to understand what the mark is telling me, but you don't have the instinct. You're not even supposed to be trying to read the mark. That's probably why it's heating up. You'll learn to read it soon enough, Kagome." Inuyasha explained, calmly, as Kagome slowly settled down. He also started to relax.

"I just thought something had gone wrong, the mark just started to burn. It burned my shoulder; it burned when I tried to touch it. I was scared something was happening to you. I was afraid I was going to lose you, Inuyasha." Kagome finally confessed quietly as Inuyasha drew her into his arms, softly smiling down upon the top of the girl's head. Kagome wrapped her arms up around Inuyasha's neck, snuggling herself close to Inuyasha's chest. This was comforting, and she felt the mark cool. "So hot means frustrated? I'll have to remember that, but there are only two major temperatures, hot and cold, this is so confusing.

The sound of someone's throat clearing was heard as a tall figure stepped out of the shadows.

"I'd hate to interrupt this darling, perfect painting moment, but I believe there is business to attend to." Sesshoumaru's cold voice rang in the couple's ears. Kagome's eyes closed tight, Inuyasha simply looked up and over at his brother. "Good, I see you've chosen the live priestess." Sesshomaru said coldly while staring at Kagome, who was still snuggled in Inuyasha's arms. Kagome felt the mark go freezing cold, then it burned, finally settling to a slightly cool state upon her shoulder, almost comforting her. Inuyasha, however, growled.

"Why wouldn't I?" He growled, as Sesshoumaru, smiled. Even though it was just a tiny grin, Inuyasha and Kagome both stared. Sesshoumaru…smile? Well, this was new. Sesshomaru shook his head at his brother, and looked over at Kagome.

"Brother, I believe it's time for you to come back to my castle. Even if it is just for a little while, we have issues to discuss." Sesshoumaru said coldly, as Kagome remembered something.

"OH!" The girl reached into the small pocket of her skirt and pulled out a note, folded around a wax crest. "We were to, deliver this to you." Kagome said, and walked slowly towards Sesshoumaru, holding out the letter that he had addressed to himself. Sesshoumaru took the letter and tucked it safely into his kimono, still staring at the couple.

"When can I expect you?" Sesshoumaru asked plainly, studying Inuyasha's face.

"Tomorrow by sundown." He growled, staring his brother down.

Sesshoumaru laughed quietly then looked at his pitiful brother and his mate the priestess. It was against everything. Priestesses were to be pure, if mated at all, then to humans. Demons were the enemy...but there was something different about his brother's priestess. He knew that she was the reincarnation of his brother's first intention, sure, but he liked this one better. She was livelier than Kikyo had been, even in her natural life.

"Then I shall be seeing you, little brother. Priestess." Sesshoumaru nodded to them both then was off. Both Kagome and Inuyasha could just blink, as Inuyasha slipped his arm fluidly around Kagome's waist. _When did he let go of me? _Kagome mentally asked and blinked, looking up at him.

"...I guess we're going to Sesshoumaru's tomorrow." Inuyasha grumbled, and Kagome looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

"Did he really say castle?" She asked, smiling, wrapping her arms around Inuyasha's middle. Inuyasha smirked and nodded as Kagome let out a short squeal. "Does that mean there's...a bed?" Inuyasha nodded. "Bath?" Inuyasha nodded. "Electricity?" Inuyasha blinked, and Kagome laughed. _I tried...wait. If Inuyasha and I are 'mates', we'll probably have to sleep in the same bed...eep! _Kagome smiled, snuggling against Inuyasha's chest. "Let's head out tonight," Kagome whispered, and Inuyasha laughed.

"Let's get a good night's rest in safety, then head out in the morning. I told Sesshoumaru tomorrow by sun down, and I plan to keep that accurate." Inuyasha said quietly, picking Kagome up bridal style and jumping up into a tree, shifting the girl in his arms, contentedly.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered softly into his chest, sitting up, and pushing herself against him, her back against the tree. His arm immediately caught her waist, keeping her securely on the branch, as the girl's hands reached up to Inuyasha's ears. Before she knew it...Inuyasha was laughing?

The half dog demon squirmed, trying to keep Kagome and himself on the branch, but seemed to be having trouble. Kagome pulled her hands away, looking at the now twitching ears. Kagome smiled at her hands, then looked back at the twitching ears. Inuyasha's ears were ticklish! Inuyasha, however, scowled.

"Don't do that, wench." Inuyasha growled, staring off in front of them, angry. Kagome nodded and laid her head against his chest.

"Sorry..." She mumbled, trying to hide her smirk, as Inuyasha's arms pulled around her. "We should head back to the village," Kagome said to him, not wanting to fall asleep so early.

"Fine, wench." Inuyasha said, looking down at her, still grouchy about having his "secret" revealed.

Around fifteen minutes later, Kagome climbed out of Inuyasha's arms and walked close to Inuyasha's side as they entered the small hut, Sango sitting next to the door frame, pouting. Miroku, however, was smiling.

"Monk, I'm not doing _**that**_. I have modesty and intend to keep it." Sango bit out, glaring daggers through Miroku, who was smirking.

"Lovely Sango, the bet was..." Miroku smiled as Sango stiffened up.

"I REALLY DON'T CARE WHAT THE BET WAS!" She screamed, standing up and turning around trying to storm out the door, but instead ran into Inuyasha, who simply blinked as he moved quickly to catch Sango's arm, keeping her from falling. Sango stood up and chuckled, looking at Kagome.

"Would you like to go to the springs for a bath? _**ALONE?**_" Sango had practically screamed alone, as Miroku laughed. Inuyasha growled.

"Yes, yes I will." Kagome said, sitting her yellow backpack down on the ground and taking two towels out, soap, shampoo, and a new uniform. Kagome smiled and whispered into Inuyasha's ear "Watch him," as she passed him, and grabbed his hand swiftly, then letting it go, wondering if anyone had noticed. She looked over her shoulder and saw Miroku gawking at Sango, who was smirking at her and Inuyasha's now apart hands. _Damn..._

* * *

As the two reached the hot springs and sunk into the water, Sango simply smiled at Kagome, who had made a big job of making sure her mark was covered, before remembering that Sango had already seen it.

"Who gets story time first, you, or me?" Sango asked, smirking mischievously. She was excited.

Kagome blinked. "Err...you can go first." She said, blushing from head to toe.

"Well...MIROKU KISSED ME!" Sango shouted, as Kagome squealed, and the two girls chatted like they had been apart for months.

* * *

Ok, not as long as I wanted, but still pretty long. I'm happy with this chapter, it makes me smile. And I've read so many fictions where Inuyasha just loooooooves having his ears rubbed, and it feels soooooooo good, and yadda yadda...so I decided to be a little different. And have it tickle. Yup! The big, bad dog demon is ticklish. -smirks- and we even get to go see big bubba? Ooh, this'll be fun. I'll see ya'll next chapter!

OBMcKenzie: Wow, I'm inspiring? And wow, thanks. –feels flattered again- I'm gonna try and treat you guys to a long chapter, but I dunno. I wanted to do that with the last one, too, but couldn't.

Bookwormjavajunkie: Aaaah, I love you! And I've read so many fictions where Sango and Miroku are all lovey, lovey, and it just bugs the living heck out of me. Too OOC. And I havn't even thought about bringing wolfie-poo into the story…-smiles- good idea! And we'll have to work on the thinking thing. And oooOOooooOOOh! –snuggles plushie, hangs poster next to her cousin's band poster- …aww, I'm very sorry. I'm glad that I could cheer you up a little. .

Koriat: COOKIES! –Munches-

Inuyashatotallyobsessed (): Quote obsessed is not bad. And as for the spider: I wanted to make it all dramatic and what not, but I couldn't. So I made it a spider. Yeths. ½ way there, and now, we get to hear from our lovely little flea friend Myoga and Sesshoumaru. –tackles Sesshoumaru and steals his momoko-sama(that's its name, right?), snuggles it- …and I doubt step two is going to come for a long time. Thankey! .

Moonlight-dancer-08: Thank you for your many reviews! I'm trying to work on the length, but it's not as easy as it sounds. O.O

Kei-Ookami.kara.mori: Yes, there will be another one. However, it might not be for quite a while.


	15. Sesshoumaru's Castle and Big Plans

'lo all! I just got my braces tightened, so I decided to write. Review Replies are once again at the bottom. Whilst eating linner with my mom, I got an idea of how to introduce Kouga into the story. Most of you aren't going to like it. Both readers and characters are probably going to go over the edge. But I like it. I don't know if I'm going to do it during this chapter or the next, because we're going to big bubba's during this chapter! Whooooo!...but I'm sure you don't care about how excited I am. So, on to the chapter.

**Warning: Fluff Ahead…MAJOR Fluff Ahead. Possible weak Citrus, too!**

* * *

Kagome slowly opened her eyes, stretching out her back atop her sleeping bag. As the girl slowly sat up and surveyed the room, she noticed everyone was there…excluding Inuyasha. She slowly raised her hand to her mark and felt a cool sensation at touching it. She didn't even have to think about what it could mean, Kagome already knew. _He's nervous about Sesshoumaru… _Kagome sighed and shook her head, slowly raising herself out of the sleeping bag, as not to disturb anyone, and tip toed out of the hut. As the morning sun shone brightly into the girl's eyes, she whimpered quietly, squinting as she looked around.

"Inuyasha, where are you?" The girl whispered, looking around. Kagome grabbed a bow and arrows and headed off into the forest. She wanted to be with Inuyasha, but if he wasn't at the God Tree, then she's stay there anyway. She had always loved spending time in the God Tree, it was the only thing that she had that was relatively the same in both this time and her own.

But, as the girl approached the God Tree, all she could hear was muttered curses. They were from a demon…her demon. Kagome smiled, and slowed her approach. As she poked her head from behind a tree, she saw the half demon…pacing? Yes, Inuyasha was defiantly pacing. Pacing and talking to himself in low tones.

"I-Inuyasha?" The girl whispered out, as Inuyasha's head shot over to the girl, and faked annoyance.

"Can't a guy get any time to himself?" He bit out, but Kagome chuckled.

"You're nervous." Inuyasha started to shake his head in denial, but Kagome walked up to him and placed a finger across his lips in attempt to quiet him. "I can feel it. It's…I don't know. I just… _know_." Kagome whispered, and softly wrapped her arms around his neck. She wanted Inuyasha to calm down so badly…she felt useless with him so tense. After at least five minutes of standing still, refusing to return any affection, Inuyasha's arms wrapped slowly around Kagome's stomach. At first, he hadn't held onto her too tightly, it was just so that Kagome wouldn't get upset. However, it ended up as a death grip around the girl's stomach, softly laying kisses up and down her neck, rubbing soft circles on the small of her back. Kagome melted against the hanyou's body, synchronizing their breaths, closing her eyes and pressing her head against his shoulder. Oh, if they could simply stand like this forever. Inuyasha's smile grew as he continued to kiss her neck softly, allowing his tongue to softly flicker at the girl's neck once in a while. Inuyasha eventually stopped, inhaling Kagome's sweet scent before looking her in the eyes.

"See? I told you you'd be able to understand it." He said quietly, nipping at the girl's lip with his fangs, obviously proud of her. This had taken his mother months to figure out, he remembered her telling him everything about her father. Even after he had died, his mother was still in love with his father. Still so in love. Now, the thought made his heart ache, the thought of ever leaving Kagome. If they had children, however… Inuyasha froze. He and Kagome were mates. They would be having pups eventually…and he would have a family. His pups…he and Kagome's. He, a filthy hanyou, was going to have a family. Excitement had to have been shining from his eyes, and the half demon knew it as he hugged Kagome even more tightly, if it were possible to do so without strangling Kagome first. Obviously, it was, because Kagome just looked up at the hanyou…or at least tried to. She ended up managing pressing her cheek firmly against his.

"What's wrong?" She asked, closing her eyes and placing all of her weight against Inuyasha, who simply smiled, excited. Kagome was going to mother his pups. _Strong, beautiful pups…_

"Nothing. We need to get back to the village so we can head out as soon as possible. It's going to take a while to get to the castle, anyway." Inuyasha said, trying to hide the excitement in his voice, but failing, miserably. Kagome shook her head and pressed her lips quickly against the hanyou's, then smiled and took his hand, walking slowly back to the village.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me? I'm sure it'll make me just as happy as it made you…" Kagome smiled, squeezing every ounce of cuteness and charm into the two sentences, and Inuyasha laughed.

"You'll know soon enough, 'darling'." He said, smirking and kissing the top of her head. Just how long had they been out in the forest? Oh well, it didn't matter. Inuyasha softly pushed some of her hair away from her shoulder, exposing his mark. _So what if I'm overly proud? Kagome is mine._ He told himself, smiling and nuzzling his nose into the mark. Once they had truly mated, Kagome would smell like him all over. And then, there would be pups. Oh, lord, would there be pups. If Kagome wanted them, that was. But, assuming from her attitude around Shippo, she'd want plenty to make Inuyasha happy.

"Alright, 'honey'." Kagome mimicked his tone and smiled, entwining her fingers with his.

* * *

Miroku sat up, leaning his back against the wall, staring at Sango's sleeping form.

_How have I managed to fall so hard in such a short amount of time? I'd do anything for Sango…I'd probably even die for her. I'd die if she were to die. I love her. _

Miroku thought silently, simply content to be this close to Sango. Hell, the monk was happy to be within the same room with the slayer. How _had _he let his guard down enough to fall so terribly hard? The monk blinked in thought, and shrugged. No use now, he was in love with Sango, and he rather liked it. And again, hell, she had kissed him back after he kissed her. After everything he had thought, all that he had expected, after every single cell in his body had known that she would have pulled away, she didn't. She had kissed him back with a hunger and need and passion and fire and anything else that one could think to mention. What he wouldn't give to kiss those lips once more…

"Monk." Inuyasha said in a low tone. "Kagome and I are going to Sesshoumaru's castle. Take care of the old woman and the runt, I doubt I have to worry about you taking care of Sango. I have no idea when we'll be back…" Inuyasha said, as Miroku nodded, and Inuyasha disappeared into the early morning light.

"Time to myself with Sango…I'll tell her whilst they are away." Miroku declared to himself quietly, as Sango roused from the deep sleep she had been in. Miroku's eyes shot forward, as he pretended to be praying…or something.

* * *

Inuyasha was starting to get frustrated. It was almost sun down and they weren't close enough to the castle. _The stupid wench just **has** to walk…That's it. _

"Kagome." The half demon practically barked out, causing the human girl to jump, then look at her mate.

"Hmm?" The girl inquired quietly, staring into his beautiful golden eyes.

"Keh, get on my back. Now." He bit out, and Kagome would have argued, but decided not to. His tone told her that he was going to win the fight, no matter what. Kagome slowly retreated to behind him, and climbed onto Inuyasha's back as he squatted down. As Kagome tightened her arms around the boy's neck, burying her head into his silver hair, Inuyasha simply chuckled and smiled. "Hold on tight, Kagome. I'm gonna have to haul ass if we're gonna make it on time." He whispered as he took hold of the girl's thighs and held on tightly to them, leaping and bounding off in the direction of Sesshoumaru's castle.

Around an hour later, just after the sun had gone down, Inuyasha smirked once again, and shook the girl on his back softly. Kagome stirred instantly, unable to see anything. Her head quickly shot up from the silver pillow that she had fallen asleep on, as she looked around…then saw it.

"We're almost here, Kagome." Inuyasha bit out, trying to imagine the look on her face. He had been to this place so many times, even stayed here for quite some time while he was younger, so the humungous stone building wasn't much to look at for him anymore. Kagome, however…

"Is that…_it?_" She squealed, hugging Inuyasha's neck as he nodded. Kagome bounced up and down on Inuyasha's back, which caused the demon to chuckle slightly.

"Now hold on tight, the bastard's probably already complaining that we're late." Inuyasha said, taking off in a sprint towards the castle, as Kagome stared at the humungous building. There were seven huge roofs that she could see, that were done in…shingles? _I thought shingles were "modern"…_ The entire castle was surrounded by trees, probably a forest that had been booby trapped to keep Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Jaken safe. Then, another thing hit Kagome. RIN!

Kagome sighed, taking a look to the right of the building farthest out, seeing a river. Maybe there was a hot spring…Kagome's eyes widened. Sango wasn't there…she couldn't take a bath with anyone. Sure, Rin was there, but she was just a small child… _I could go with Inuyasha.. _The girl flinched at the thought. Bathing with Inuyasha would mean they would probably…Kagome blushed five shades of red. Sure, they would do…**_it _**…eventually, but Kagome just wasn't…ready. Yes, she loved Inuyasha. She loved him with everything she had, she loved him more than…anything. Kagome would rather die than be without Inuyasha. But…doing that with Inuyasha…the thought was slightly scary. She could get pregnant, and it wasn't that she didn't want babies, she was just so young. It was common in this era for women to have children already at her age…but not in her era, now where she was accustomed to everything as it was. Kagome had decided at the very moment that Inuyasha marked her that she would stay in the Feudal Era, for she couldn't make Inuyasha suffer into everything that he would face in her own time. But…still, making love to him was out of the question…for now. _I'm afraid. That's the only explanation. I don't trust Inuyasha. I don't believe in him enough to know that he's not going to go run off to Kikyo…but he tried to kill her! He tried to give me back my soul. I'm afraid that I'll get pregnant, and Inuyasha will up and leave to be with Kikyo. Which he has every right to do, but… _Inuyasha slowly stopped, and turned his head to look at the girl on his back.

"Kagome? You OK?" He asked, looking at the girl, slightly worried. Despite how terrified she had become of her own thoughts, Kagome nodded. "Sesshoumaru won't do anything to you. If he was going to, he would have done it last night, you know what?" Kagome nodded again, and buried her head into Inuyasha's neck, laying a soft kiss upon his mark. Inuyasha swiftly swung the girl off his back and onto the ground in front of him, wrapping his arms tightly around her stomach.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped, but settled against his chest soon after, as Inuyasha smiled, and hold tightly to the girl, turning his face and kissing the top of her forehead.

"There's a lot of shit you don't know about demon mating, and I assume Sesshoumaru's gonna want to explain it all to you. So…we probably won't be able to do anything until we get back to whatever kind of room the bastard has for us. So get whatever you need out of your system now." Inuyasha explained quietly, as Kagome smiled and raised herself to her tip toes, kissing Inuyasha deeply and passionately. The girl's arms went around his neck, as Inuyasha allowed his hand to stray and slowly creep up the bottom of her shirt, settling at the middle of her back, softly massaging the soft skin. Kagome slowly pulled back for air, breathing deeply, but stayed equally close to Inuyasha, as he pressed his lips to her forehead once again.

"Ok, I'm good." The girl whispered with a smile, but Inuyasha refused to move.

"Damn it, if I knew that the bastard wasn't waiting for us, we wouldn't be even close to stopping. You can thank your damn lucky stars for that, Kagome." Inuyasha said in a deep, husky tone, and smiled, swinging the girl back onto his back, walking slowly up to the gate surrounding the castle. Kagome's face burned with at least five hundred shades of red.

Kagome sighed as Inuyasha leapt over a large stone wall, effortlessly, and landed them on the other side, still in a large grouping of trees. Kagome was sick of all the trees already...

"Little brother." Sesshoumaru's cold voice rang from somewhere within the forest, as Inuyasha looked around. Kagome was still in a daze. Sesshoumaru's laugh was now heard.

"Little brother's _priestess_." He barked out, as Kagome looked up, and laid eyes on Sesshoumaru, pin pointing his voice quickly.

"Sesshoumaru! Show yourself!" Inuyasha barked, angry that he couldn't find his own brother, his flesh and blood. Kagome tapped his shoulder and kindly pointed out Sesshoumaru, as both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru growled at each other.

"Come, younger brother. There are spells set about this forest to fool those demons who are trying to harm myself, Rin, that annoying toad of my own, and any guests. This Sesshoumaru will show you to his castle, and then show you to your quarters. We shall discuss what you were brought about for in the morning, after you two have had a pleasant night's rest." Sesshoumaru said, and swirled around, walking towards his castle. Inuyasha let Kagome crawl down from his back, as she casually took his hand, walking slightly behind him.

Soon, Kagome found herself looking up the tall stone wall of a three story tall building. Kagome's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, as she looked around, smiling. This must have been the main establishment of the castle, as she looked it over. It had somewhat of an 'L' form. _I'll have to ask Sesshoumaru of my time next time we go home just what happened to his castle. It's…absolutely beautiful._

"Come, brother...priestess." Sesshoumaru's emotionless voice said, opening two large doors, stepping into what seemed to be a...greeting room of sorts? "Jaken." Sesshoumaru snapped quietly, as the small reptile demon appeared in front of the trio.

"Yes, m'lord?" Jaken asked politely, and then looked over Kagome and Inuyasha with slight disgust.

"First of all, you will treat brother and his priestess as royalty. They are our guests. Show them to their quarters." Sesshoumaru barked, as Jaken jumped and bowed to his master.

"Yes, m'lord, of course!" He said, then stood and bowed politely to Inuyasha and Kagome. "Your quarters, if you will follow me." The demon said, then quickly walked (If not ran) in the opposite direction of Sesshoumaru, who just coldly laughed. (If you must know, it was a more sinister and evil laugh than a humorous one, and Jaken recognized the sound fearfully.)

* * *

Kagome's jaw simply dropped, and had no intention whatsoever of joining the top one when she saw the room…s. As Jaken shut the door quietly, Kagome finally let out a small squeak, as Inuyasha shrugged off the room, and set his attention directly to Kagome.

"What's wrong? You don't sense any demons, do you?" Inuyasha asked, perky and very alert. Kagome simply started laughed, then wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's neck.

"Can we just stay here forever?" Kagome squeaked out, extremely content. Currently, they were in a small entrance way, which branched out in three ways. Straight was a small hallway which opened into a large room, what it was, Kagome had no idea. On both the left and right sides were doors. "Actual doors!" The girl squealed and touched the wood excitedly, then raced off into the large room. Inuyasha simply rolled his eyes and followed his mate into the large room.

Kagome's squeal was heard again, as Inuyasha's ears found their way down to his head, flat.

"Wench…" Inuyasha growled, but Kagome was too busy being amazed. In the far right corner, there was a fire pit. Surrounding it were pots and pans of many sizes, and a large stack of wood. In the corner opposite of that, there were many sacks, most likely of rice and other non-perishable foods. A small futon sat against the wall closest to her, and three pillows sat atop it. Kagome smiled, walking past the futon, through another door…

And she screamed. Flinging herself at the first real mattress she'd seen in all her time in the Feudal Era, the girl smiled as she simply sunk into it. Two small marble slabs sat right beside the mattress which simply sat on the floor. The covers then caught Kagome's attention. She'd be using real covers, not just one of Kaede's oversized kimonos. She wanted to squeal, but didn't let herself. A reasonably smaller fire pit sat in the furthest corner from the fire pit, and two small futons (possibly two halves of a whole futon) sat beside each other, another tile slab in between them.

Following a short corridor from the she found a humungous walk in closet filled with elegant looking silk and cotton kimonos, both male and female, (she assumed Sesshoumaru was expecting her to change from her uniform, and really didn't blame him) and on the other side…a bathroom. An honest to God bathroom…or the closest thing she'd seen to one in this era. A huge tub big enough to be a hot tub in her era that was slightly raised off the ground with a spigot standing next to it made her giggle. A bath. A warm, wet, clean bath. Kagome held back a squeal of joy as she turned around and saw a small bowl with a considerably smaller spigot beside it, a basin (obviously for washing clothing) sitting beside it.

"I've died and gone to heaven." Kagome mumbled, collapsing to the ground of the bathroom, simply laughing.

"Oi, wench, what's with you?" Inuyasha snapped out, and Kagome stood up and wrapped her arms around him tightly, snuggling against the boy's body. Inuyasha sighed and wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, shaking his head softly. _Does she know that I'm putty in her pretty little hands? _Inuyasha assumed so.

"Inuyasha." The girl said, firmly, poking his back, then smiled. "I want a bath." She mumbled against him, trying to get out of Inuyasha's grasp.

"Okay." He said casually, smirking, while Kagome blushed.

"That means you have to leave." Kagome smiled again, kissing him on the cheek, but Inuyasha shook his head.

"No, Kagome." Inuyasha smiled as Kagome flushed over, bright red.

"Fine, then. I guess I'll just take a bath fully clothed." Kagome said, as Inuyasha smirked.

"And I'll join you." Inuyasha laughed at Kagome's disgruntled expression. Kagome, however, not believing him, lit a fire under the tub, then started to fill it with water from the spigot…and Inuyasha was still there. "Y'know, wench, I would have done that for you." He laughed as he stepped up next to Kagome, letting his arm lay limply around her waist.

"You wouldn't dare ruin my bath." Kagome said, almost angrily, as the volume of Inuyasha's laugh rose.

"I wouldn't ever ruin anything of yours." He said, and in the blink of an eye, he and Kagome were both sitting in the warm water. Kagome squealed and instinctively tugged on his hair. She knew that if she sat him, her tub would be ruined. Inuyasha returned a yell before cutting Kagome's torture off with a punishing kiss.

"I can't believe you!" Kagome shouted, angrily, as she climbed out of the bath tub, both her hair and her clothes clinging to her body. _No, don't be like Miroku. Don't dare let yourself go…_ Inuyasha thought, his jaw dropped. _Yep, she knows. And she's trying to punish me…damn it. _Kagome shot an angry glance back at Inuyasha as she started to wring her hair out, storming off into the rest of the room, still literally dripping wet.

Inuyasha climbed out of the tub, leaving the water in the tub, but putting out the fire and shook himself dry, removing his outer and inner haori. Draping them over the wash basin, he slowly made his way out into he and Kagome's bedroom, where she stood, facing the window, tying her kimono. She had chosen a light purple silk one with black accents, and had the sleeves tied up to where they were the length of a T-shirt. Inuyasha sighed. He had enjoyed Kagome having her clothes practically glued to her body, for once, he got to see her figure.

"I got one out for you, too. On the bed." Kagome bit out, still fiddling with the tie of the kimono. Inuyasha shuddered at her tone. She was pissed…he was in for one heck of a sitting. "I hope you like it, if you don't, you don't have to wear it. You can just stay _wet_." The girl bit out before storming off into the main room, pulling a brush through her hair. Inuyasha shuddered once again as he looked down at the kimono, smirking. The pants were black, and the haori was red, a bit darker than his own fire rat robes, but still red. He dressed quickly in the kimono, a bit bothered by the fine silk material, but shrugged it off, and walked out into the main room, where Kagome was stirring something in a pot above the fire.

"I'm sorry." Inuyasha said quietly, walking over and wrapping his arms around the girl's stomach, standing behind her. Kagome sighed and tried to get out of his grasp, but found she couldn't. "I'm not letting you go of you until you forgive me." Inuyasha said, smiling. Kagome could tell from his tone.

"I don't want to forgive you." Kagome said, growling at him, as Inuyasha tightened his grip around her stomach, softly kissing her neck. "Inuyasha, stop it." The girl hissed out, but Inuyasha continued kissing her. "You know, you're really good at that." She bit out, leaning against him finally. Inuyasha smiled and nuzzled his head against hers, holding her as tightly as ever.

"Good at what? Getting you to forgive me? Hell, Kagome, if you're even half as much putty in my hands as I am in yours, then you'd be easy as cake." Inuyasha said, smirking, letting go of the girl, letting her tend to whatever she was cooking. A quick sniff of the air told him rice.

"Are you going to want some when this is done?" Kagome asked quietly, looking at the air where Inuyasha used to be. A quiet 'mhmmm' let her know that he was across the room…laying on the futon. The hanyou looked quiet exhausted, actually. Kagome smiled. She was going to treat her mate like royalty…he deserved it. He really did.

* * *

Kagome collapsed onto the mattress, feeling slightly odd sleeping in the silk kimono, but shook the feeling out of her head as she snuggled against it's softness.

"A real mattress…this is the nicest mattress ever…" Kagome mumbled to herself, not even thinking about the pillow or blankets yet. Well…that was a slight lie. Her feet were freezing, and she scrambled to get under the blankets. Inuyasha entered the room, chuckling at his priestess, wearing only the black pants that she had chosen for him before sitting on top of the lump of blankets that he knew was Kagome.

"Now where could my beautiful mate be?" He laughed, while Kagome squirmed underneath him.

"Inuyasha! That hurts! I can't breathe! GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed, finally rolling over and causing Inuyasha to go flying backwards, though thankfully, his fall was cushioned by the soft mattress. "I'm right here, you jerk." She bit out, but Inuyasha simply smiled and wrapped his arms, or tried to, around Kagome.

"Damn blankets…" He hissed, smiling as he crawled underneath them, and wrapping his arms around her, his nose sinking into the back of her head, inhaling deeply.

"What am I? Cocaine?" The girl asked, as Inuyasha's face scrunched up. "It's a drug that humans of my time snort through their noses." Kagome quickly answered, smiling. Inuyasha's eyes widened as the boy shuddered, still holding onto her.

"Wouldn't that…hurt?" The hanyou blinked rapidly, still inhaling her scent deeply. Kagome nodded, relaxing against the half demon, contently.

Inuyasha shook his head, mumbling something about stupid humans, causing Kagome to chuckle out of curiosity, even though she decided to keep to herself. Kagome yawned deeply, rolling herself over in Inuyasha's arms so that she was facing him, and let one of her arms fly blindly around behind her in search of one of the pillows. At finally grasping one, Kagome smiled and placed it under her head, yawning again.

"Kagome, don't fall asleep on me now..." Inuyasha whined at the girl, placing one hand of each side of her and pulling her over the sheet and mattress, holding the girl securely to his chest. Kagome looked up at him silently, a pleading look in her eyes.

"But I'm tiiiiired." She whined, smirking at the half dog demon. "Just a nap? You can wake me up in-" A yawn interrupted her sentence. "-thirty minutes. How's that sound?" Kagome asked, now pouting at the demon, who simply nodded, which made Kagome smile and snuggle against his bare chest, closing her eyes and easily falling asleep. Inuyasha, however, was going to hold the girl to her thirty minutes...well...maybe. He'd probably end up waking her when someone came in to announce dinner, but he probably wouldn't eat, since he had eaten Kagome's rice with cinnamon. That had been great...he'd have to remember what the girl had called it.

_She's so beautiful...and she's all mine. _The hanyou thought with a smile, kissing the top of the now slumbering girl's head, still in deep thought. _When we have pups...where are we going to live? Where are we going to live when we get back? There's no way I'll be able to stand the monk and the fox's taunting...I'll have to build a hut. Maybe get one of these 'mattresses' from Sesshoumaru since they seem to please Kagome so much...Maybe I could even get running water somehow? I know how much Kagome loves that stuff...I'll have to speak with her mother when we get back. _Inuyasha's smile widened as he examined the girl. _How will this work...our pups will only be a quarter demon...will they go a week human? _Inuyasha's eyes closed at the thought. _Maybe a week demon, the rest human? Hell...this is confusing. I hate to admit it, but our first pup is going to be an experiment of sorts...Usually demon pups stay in the mother longer than human pups, but with such little demon blood, who knows? _Inuyasha sighed, looking at Kagome once more. _She's so small...maybe too small to give birth to demon pups? Hell...I'm sure there's something they can do about that in her era. And we can get Sesshoumaru's help..._Inuyasha's eyes shot open at his thoughts. Sesshoumaru's help? Who the fuck was he kidding... _Maybe Kagome and I exist in the future now that I've marked her. Should show that damn Naraku, he'll rot in hell for all of eternity for what he put me and Kikyo through, for what he put the monk through, Sango and Shippo...for all the trouble that he's put Kagome through..._Inuyasha blinked. _But when Kagome returned, Naraku's stench was everywhere, I couldn't get away from it. If she hadn't been in such a condition, I would have searched for the bastard, but I couldn't have left her. No way. _

Inuyasha sighed again, looking around the room. _Gods, I wish I could make something this wonderful for Kagome, but I'm not nearly as wealthy as Sesshoumaru, and after all, this _**_is_**_ a castle... _Inuyasha whispered a few swear words as Kagome silently stirred, looking around. Inuyasha's eyes found their way down to the girl. _How long have I been thinking? _

"Uncle Inu? Aunt Kagome? Are you guys in here? Lord Sesshoum-"

"Yes, we're in here Rin!" Kagome answered rather happily, then glared at Inuyasha. "I can't believe you! How come you ignored her..." She bit out, and Inuyasha whimpered. _Beautiful, yes, but her wrath isn't something I want to deal with. _

"I was thinking, Kagome. Don't blame me." Inuyasha replied blankly, but Kagome shook her head and crossed her arms, pressing them to her chest. _I was thinking about our pups, bitch. _

"Lord Sesshoumaru says that dinner should be ready soon, and that I should fetch that stupid brother of and his lovely priestess. Are you going to attend dinner with us?" Rin asked politely, and Kagome couldn't help but smile at the cute little girl. The thought that she would one day be a woman with children with her current 'Lord Seshoumaru' made her want to chuckle, but she ignored the urge.

"Yes, we'll be there. Thank you very much, Rin." Kagome replied, smiling at the girl. Rin nodded and bowed and raced out of the large room, shutting the doors with a 'click'. Inuyasha's ears followed the girl's footsteps as she ran down the hall. "She's so adorable." Kagome mused to herself, obviously entertained at the small girl, as Inuyasha's mouth twirked with a smile.

"Want one? Of course, ours would be stronger and much more adorable if it took after its parents..." Inuyasha asked, twirking Kagome's nose softly as she flushed red.

"Not just yet, Miroku-in-training." Kagome giggled at her remark, while Inuyasha simply twitched in anger.

"You know, you're lucky you're a weak human instead of a demon, or I'd have to punish you." Inuyasha said, dead serious, but it caused Kagome to burst into a fresh fit of laughter as she slid out of Inuyasha's arms, straightening her kimono.

"What would you do to me? Kiss me? Oh, such a punishment." Kagome said, giggling again as she ran her fingers through her hair. Inuyasha simply rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing the haori of the kimono and sliding it over his shoulders, not bothering to tie it just yet.

"Come on, Kagome, let's go have some dinner. We'll argue after we get back." Inuyasha said, growling softly at the girl before leading her out of the room, shutting all the doors on the way.

* * *

FINALLY! Dear God, that took FOREVER. Eleven pages without A/N's and Review Replies. Over 5,000 words! (Also minus A/N's and Review Replies)This took forever to get out, and I apologize. I'm going to first submit it, unedited, just because I feel so bad for making you all wait. I'm going to send it to my editor, and I'll re-post it when I get it back with editing.

I was going to have Sesshoumaru give 'the talk' in this chapter, but it's just so long. I'm sure you're all screaming "But long is GOOD!" at the screen right now, but I'm sorry! Plus, I'm tired, so leave me alone. I'll try and get the next chapter typed and proofed quickly, but…yeah. Once again, sorry all!

www . city . matsuyama . ehime . jp / eng / image / castle . jpg

The above is the link for what I based Sesshoumaru's castle on. To view it, you'll have to copy, paste into the website bar on your browser, and remove the spaces. If it doesn't work, please inform me in your reviews.

www . bellagio . com / pages / accomflrpentsuites . asp

The above is the link for what I based Kagome and Inuyasha's room in Sesshoumaru's castle on. To view it, you'll have to copy, paste into the website bar on your browser, and remove the spaces, and in case it doesn't show up, there are underscores between accom, flr, and pentsuites. And yeah, the penthouse suite of the Bellagio. (For those of you who don't know, the Bellagio is a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.) If this one doesn't work, please also inform me in your reviews.

Time for Review Replies!

kagome-872: I don't want your cat to be mad at me! Mine's mean enough...o.o; I hope this's soon enough for yuh. 

CharmedElfLover: Thanks! I noticed NO ONE ever has Kagome's family eating anything American besides WacDonalds...so..yeah! ; And I didn't think it was that creative...o.o; And it'll be an adventure...to say the least. 

inuyashatotallyobsessed (ITO): Yes, they do kick butt. -Eats Sweet and Sour Chicken and Shrimp with chopsticks- ... ( -- Keety!) And on the entire Strip Poker thing, Kagome hasn't taught that to Miroku. And isn't going to. -chuckles- And I'll try and update asap.! Oh, and I went to your ff(dot)net profile, and I enjoyed it. It made me smile...but as for number 9 (at the bottom)...well...EEP! 

Koriat: Yay! I'm happy I make people smile. and also, Yay! for stupid little weaknesses! w00t for you! 

Amanda Trinh: Yes, it is cool that we have the same name! For, 'tis the best name to have! Tee hee. And I couldn't kill any of the five main characters. (Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo.) And if I did end up killing them, I'd bring them back to life...somehow. O. And that's an awesome name for Kikyo! I'll be using that if you don't mind. Kinky-ho is going to have a fit when she finds out that Inuyasha "Betrayed" her. -smirks- And this chapter will explain a lot about demon marking and mating rituals. 

Kei-Ookami.kara.mori: GOLDEN DOUGNUTS! YHEE! Thank you so much..-Munches- 

Bookwormjavajunkie: Oh, yes they do! -Holds up three american chopsticks, then bites lip- thank you! -blush- you flatter me... I can't believe that someone actually thinks my writing is that great! w00t! -is excited- ...and I even get applauded? YHEE!  
Inuyasha: OO I don't want to be fixed...  
Sesshoumaru: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! -squeals like Rin- 

But, back to the reply. And what kind of work might that be? ...and I dance merrily!...but that might be because I'm actually a dancer, and dance all the time. o.o;; -feels young- I is only a Freshman...in HIGH SCHOOL...O.; And as I said to Amanda Trinh, it is the best name to have! 

Zoderella: Hehe! I like you, you skip. 


	16. You Should Have Killed Him

Starting back almost immediately after posting chapter fifteen…but who knows when I'll have this done and posted.

**Warning: Lime near end of chapter, very close to Lemon, but not _just_ yet.**

* * *

Kagome smiled, pulling her brush slowly through Rin's tangled hair before taking another small sip of sake, then smiling softly as Rin fiddled with the leg of Kagome's kimono. _My mother would have my head if she knew I was drinking…_ Kagome thought quietly, making a mental note of telling Inuyasha not to mention any of this to her mother. Kagome's eyes squirreled around the room until she saw Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha talking casually…Kagome smiled. She only had memories of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha trying to kill each other, so casual talking was a lovely difference.

After a few minutes, Rin's hair was silky and smooth as Kagome pulled the brush away, smiling and patting Rin on the back.

"Rin, I'm all done." Kagome said, cheerily, smiling at Rin.

"Thanks Aunt Kagome!" The girl squealed and ran over to Sesshoumaru, no doubt fawning over her newly found silky hair. Inuyasha sat against the wall, his arms crossed, letting himself steal a glance at Kagome, though quickly breaking it as their eyes locked. Kagome sighed, shaking her head at Inuyasha and brushing through her hair. _So the bastard thinks he can tell Rin to call Kagome 'aunt'… ugh, damn him. _

To tell the truth, Inuyasha had been trying to control his temper. Really, he had. But without Kagome next to his side, that was terribly hard to do. The hanyou had truly become accustomed to having the girl's small figure next to his much bulkier one, even though he hadn't noticed it, or even intended on it. _Makes sense, though. We're newly mated...well...marked. It's better that we get our bond strengthened before we mate, in case Kagome gets pregnant, and we need some time apart.. _Inuyasha chuckled at the sight of a very pregnant looking Kagome, waddling after Inuyasha, screaming multiple sit commands.

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru's cold voice brought Inuyasha from his obviously hilarious day dream, as he rose back to attention.

"What?" He bit out coldly, as Sesshoumaru smirked, shaking his head.

"How much _have _you told her? I'd like to prepare my material beforehand." Sesshoumaru asked, letting a silent chuckle slip from his lips. Inuyasha closed his eyes, thinking back to the night he had marked Kagome.

_"Not true. If I marked you, you'd be mine, but you'd still age normally. If we…err…mated, you'd age as slowly as me. That's one of the few things I do remember my mother explaining to me." He smiled at the girl, but found that she was crying now. He frowned. _**_She doesn't want to live with me forever. I can't blame her. I'm just a filth-_**_ "oof!" Inuyasha muttered as Kagome launched herself at the hanyou, snuggling herself into him._

_"Of course I will, Inuyasha."_

"That she couldn't get out of this, and she'd live as long as I did. I didn't explain why she'd age slowly, though. And material? You've got to be kidding..." Inuyasha said quietly, glancing back at Kagome, who was now attempting to braid Rin's hair.

"Okay, not actual materialistic material. But I'd like to know what the girl knows…" Sesshoumaru stopped and shook his head, now smiling, looking at Rid.

"Brother, I do believe that human child has softened your heart." Inuyasha smirked, knowing what was to become of the under developed relationship. Sesshoumaru snarled.

"No such thing. If anyone's heart is been softened, it is not this Sesshoumaru's, but yours, little brother. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to take this time and retire to my quarters." Sesshoumaru bit out, standing up and twirling quickly, disappearing from the room just as quickly as he had appeared. Inuyasha grumbled.

"Kagome." Rin's young voice rang through the room, as Kagome became more alert, noticing the perfectly braided hair in front of her.

"Yes, Rin?" Kagome answered, smiling at the young girl.

"Lord Sesshoumaru has gone to his quarters and I want to go and play before I go to bed." Rin said innocently, as Kagome's heart simply melted. in about twenty years, Rin would have Sesshoumaru as an adoring mate, as she would adore him. Kagome smiled and nodded, tying the young girl's hair with an orange bow to match her kimono and let her scamper off to her future love's room, sitting there, completely in awe.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked from across the room, staring at the floor, deep in thought. Kagome looked at Inuyasha.

"She's...I can't picture her any differently than in the future, but when I'm there, I can't picture her any differently than she is now. It's...mind boggling. I...I feel overwhelmed." Kagome bluntly stated, on the verge of tears. Inuyasha suddenly sensed this and walked quickly over to the girl, sweeping her up into his arms and rushing them back to their room before the girl cried so he could comfort her.

As the hanyou gently laid the girl down onto the bed, he crawled up beside her, wrapping his arms around her, waiting for her tears, which didn't take long.

"This is just so…much, Inuyasha. I'm exhausted even though I shouldn't be, and I'm worried and I'm scared and I'm overwhelmed…" Kagome choked out through her sobs, her eyes allowing tears of frustration to pour out.

Inuyasha sighed, shaking his head, rubbing Kagome's arms. This was bad...but it was good that she was getting it out before Sesshoumaru told her everything. Inuyasha's golden eyes slowly disappeared from the dimly lit room in thought. Kagome continued to cry for a few minutes, then slowly settled down, her breathing labored and rough.

"I-Inuyasha?" She asked quietly, looking up at him, watching his lids slowly open to reveal the beautiful golden shade formerly hidden by them.

"Yes, Kagome?" The boy asked, looking down at her, content. He could see her clearly, though he was sure she could probably only see his outline, maybe a dim glow of light reflecting from his eyes. Her eyes were still filled with tears, and her nose was running slightly. Her face was red and showing evidence of a recent cry, and he was sure her head was aching.

"What...am I going to find out tomorrow that has you this stirred up?" The girl asked, her throat rough. _From crying. _Inuyasha quietly mused, sighing at the girl and hugging her tightly.

"To tell the truth, I don't know much more than you do. My parents weren't around when I became old enough to be able to fully understand the ritual, so I only know the basics." Inuyasha said quietly, lying obviously. Kagome noticed but really didn't care, sighing. Inuyasha knew exactly what was going to go on, but refused to believe the true amount of pain that Kagome was actually going to be in. He expected that it would start as a dull ache all over her body, and Kagome would expect it to be result of their mating. Then it would get worse. Inuyasha sighed, looking down at Kagome. "We'll figure out a lot tomorrow morning, so just try and get some rest. You're going to need it." Inuyasha quietly beckoned, kissing Kagome softly on the lips, wiping away the remaining tears with his index finger, smiling down at her. Kagome nodded and curled up in a ball, still snuggling against his chest and closed his eyes, falling asleep quickly.

_Wench wore herself out while we were traveling. _Inuyasha decided quietly to himself, still holding tightly to Kagome, barely tired. He knew he'd have to at least _try _and get some sleep, but also knew that it wouldn't come very easily.

* * *

Inuyasha, waking first after hearing a very loud and hearty knock on the door, slowly slipped his arms from their position snuggly around Kagome's still curled up body and hurried towards the door. Shutting the door to the bedroom on his way, as the petruding light from the uncovered windows in the main cooking room was almost too bright for even him, he opened the door with a quiet clock, and looked down, spotting the green demon, who appeared to be scowling much like Inuyasha himself would do. This made Inuyasha chuckle quietly.

"My lord wishes to have an audience with you and your-" Jaken coughed, "-_priestess_, in about an hour's time. Don't be late." Jaken barked at the half dog demon, as Inuyasha popped his knuckles, smacking Jaken right over the head. Jaken squealed and held his head. "Might I ask what that was for?" Jaken squeaked, and Inuyasha laughed.

"That was for sassing me and using the tone you did while speaking of my mate. Now go back to your damn master." Inuyasha said angrily, slamming the door shut in Jake's face. He knew that Kagome would wake to that, but he really didn't care. That was one less thing he had to worry about- waking the wench up. Inuyasha smiled. **_My_**_ mate._

Kagome's groggy form appeared from the bedroom, staring half angrily at Inuyasha.

"You _had _to slam the door?" She growled quietly, following it with a swift hand to cover her eyes at the light. Inuyasha laughed and nodded, walking over to his mate and hugging her.

"The damned toad..." He whispered into her ear, pulling her petite body against his, smiling contently. _I smile a lot when she's around._ "Don't get used to all this lovey dovey, Kagome. We're alone now...and I fear what the monk would say." Inuyasha said, smirking over the girl's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his back, content.

"All right." Kagome whispered, smirking and hugging herself flush against her mate's chest. "So what's on the agenda today?" She asked in a rather hushed voice, as the hanyou smiled and kissed her temple.

"Sesshoumaru in an hour. Lunch probably, then we can relax back here." Inuyasha said, smirking at the wording. He and Kagome were going to have some..._fun_.

"Mmm…an hour? That's all? Darn." Kagome said, smiling and resting her head at Inuyasha's shoulder, almost falling asleep.

"Yes, 'darn'. That means you need to get dressed. Hurry up." Inuyasha laughed, letting go of her and walking into the small bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed, walking into the closet, and selecting a new kimono for the day, assuming that Inuyasha would simply wear his fire rat robes.

* * *

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru's cold voice rang out from across the small table, as Kagome winced and snuggled up against Inuyasha, who had one arm resting lazily around her waist. "Why have you chosen my half breed, worthless brother as your mate?" Sesshoumaru asked again, as a growl escaladed from Inuyasha's chest. Sesshoumaru smirked at Kagome's obvious anger.

"First of all, he is far from worthless. He's beaten you many times in battle, so you can just pop that humungous ego. Just because he's hanyou doesn't mean you can judge him by it, and I'm his mate because I love him." Kagome bit out, causing Inuyasha to smile, squeezing her side softly. Sesshoumaru continued to smile.

"Are you willing to bear his pups for him when the time comes? Are you ready to have little Inuyasha's running around? Are you ready to be viewed as demonic royalty?" Sesshoumaru asked, as Kagome nodded slowly to each question, though she wasn't sure what he meant by demonic royalty. Inuyasha laughed.

"Sesshoumaru, you don't get it. She doesn't know much of your standards, or mine, for that matter." Inuyasha said, quickly sensing Kagome's slight distress, as Sesshoumaru's smile faded.

"This Sesshoumaru is Lord of the Western Lands. Because I am the eldest of my brother and I, I instantly became the Inu No Tashio. However, Inuyasha is also a Lord, though he refuses to acknowledge it, or even act of royalty." Sesshoumaru bit out, giving Inuyasha a slight look of disgust. Inuyasha snorted.

"I don't need people bowin' down to me just because I'm royal. I want respect because of who I am, not who my dad was, or who my damn brother is." Inuyasha said, almost angrily, as Kagome dropped one of her hands to the one that Inuyasha had at her waist, softly caressing his rough fingers, hoping to calm her mate. No such thing.

"Never mind, Inuyasha. When you and your priestess do actually mate, she will not only gain your demon blood, but she will also gain the blood of royalty." Sesshoumaru said, and quickly noted Kagome's confused expression. "You seem slightly confused, priestess." He said quickly, and Kagome nodded.

Inuyasha's eyes wondered away from his brother and his mate, as he knew what was coming up. "When you mate my little brother, then your blood will change from that of a human to that of a half breed. Were you to mate a full blooded demon, it would change to that of a full blooded demon. Your senses will no longer be dull as that of a human, but they will be sharp. Your exterior will not be changed at all, accept for on the night that my brother is human, you will remain demon so that you can protect him, if need be." Kagome nodded, feeling odd. _I'll be half demon? Why didn't Inuyasha tell me? Maybe he's afraid that I would reject him…but he knows that I'm ok with him!_ "Priestess." Sesshoumaru said, clearing his throat, as Kagome was shook from her short lived thoughts.

"Yes?" The girl asked, as she just then noticed that Inuyasha had slid her petit figure into his lap. Sighing, Kagome leaned her head against Inuyasha's chest, keeping her eyes on Sesshoumaru, who snorted in disgust. He wanted to let his little brother know that if he wanted to mate his priestess, he needed to do it on his own time, not when he was trying to explain everything about demon mating to the little human bitch.

"I am unsure of this, and you may want to test it after you have mated, but Kagome _might _be able to wield Tetsuiaga. It would seem correct, since she would be half demon, and would have our father's blood running through her veins, but I am unsure of any of this. It is just a theory that this Sesshoumaru came upon last night while signing many treaties." Sesshoumaru said, almost angrily, glaring at his brother.

"But…so am I going to have completely different blood when Inuyasha and I have…erm…mated?" Kagome asked, as Sesshoumaru smiled.

"Unfortunately, no. Your human blood will stay exactly the same, your human mother and father's blood will still flow through you. But Inuyasha's mother and our father's blood will run through you as well. You will there in have four parents, two of them living." Sesshoumaru stated, as Kagome coughed.

"One." She quickly corrected him, and Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and nodded. This was going to be a very long explanation.

* * *

After a few more hours of nodding, Kagome and Inuyasha were finally dismissed, and only because of Inuyasha's temper. Sesshoumaru had been fed up, and after clueing Kagome on the minor ups and downs of demon mating, declared her a suitable mate for the younger Lord of the Western Lands. Inuyasha had lead Kagome quickly back to their room, rushing her when she stopped at the kitchen asking for water for tea, and some meat for a lunch. When they finally arrived at the room, Inuyasha went straight to their bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, pretending to be asleep. Kagome rolled her eyes and placed the meat in a small cooler she had brought with her, hoping that it would stay cool for a while. When she joined Inuyasha into their bedroom, she fell for his 'act', and simply snuggled up against him, laying atop the covers, as was he. As she felt Inuyasha's arms slowly circle around her stomach, Kagome smiled, pushing her back up against the boy's chest contently.

"So..you're ok with the entire being half demon thing?" He asked silently, whispering so quietly that Kagome could barely even hear him. When he felt Kagome nod under him, he smiled, kissing her neck softly. Just then, her scent spiked. She was…aroused? He had never smelled Kagome aroused before, and could barely keep hold of himself as it was. Kagome rolled herself over, snaking her arms around the hanyou's neck and kissing him passionately, seeming to have lost all control of herself. Soon, Inuyasha's sliver of self control would be gone as well. Inuyasha smirked, inhaling Kagome's 'new' scent, pulling her flush against him, already fiddling with the ties of her kimono.

Inuyasha smiled, flicking his tongue roughly into Kagome's mouth, wrestling hers, letting his frustration out because he couldn't get the ties of her kimono un-done quick enough. Kagome laughed into his mouth, helping his shaky hands with her kimono, letting it slip off of her now exposed chest. Feeling a blush crawl across her chest, Kagome closed her eyes, kissing Inuyasha once more. A smile grew across the hanyou's face, as he pulled away, gazing upon his mate.

"Beautiful." He managed to whisper out before moving to her neck, sucking and nipping at it. Kagome knew he was leaving marks, but didn't care, as she arched her back and tilted her head to give Inuyasha better access. But that was of no use, as Inuyasha slowly made his way down her neck, to her collar bone and finally onto her chest. Taking one breast into his mouth, sucking at the now hardened nipple, Inuyasha smiled as he heard Kagome let out a labored moan. Allowing one of his clawed hands reach up for the other neglected breast, he let his claws slowly scratch across the delicate skin, as Kagome screamed in pleasure.

This was like nothing Kagome had ever felt before. Sure, she was afraid that she was going to get pregnant, but at that moment, really didn't care. She was lost; putty in Inuyasha's hands. Feeling Inuyasha's tongue flicker across her nipple, Kagome screamed once again, taking a handful of Inuyasha's hair in the process. Inuyasha laughed loudly and switched, now biting and sucking at the other breast, squeezing the now slightly wet breast hardly. Kagome busied herself with getting Inuyasha's haori off, which proved hard enough, as Inuyasha kissed her deeply on the lips and untied both his fire rat and white under haori. Kagome ran her hands softly over his chest, flipping him over and straddling his waist, kissing him passionately, hoping to make Inuyasha feel as much torture as she had felt.

Inuyasha knew exactly what the wench was doing, Inuyasha's lips curled into a smile, feeling himself become aroused as he stare upon his mate's half clothed figure. Kagome smiled, allowing one of her hands to stray to Inuyasha's already hardened _member_, smirking and kissing his chest softly. Inuyasha's hips bucked…and then there was a knock on the door. Kagome's head immediately turned, a blush covering her as she hurried to cover herself, but Inuyasha shook his head, pulling the haori completely off of her, flipping her over and straddling her at the hips.

"They'll come back later." He decided for her, clawing at her hips where her kimono bottoms rested. Kagome blushed and nodded, as Inuyasha devoured her lips, once again ignoring the door…until the bedroom door opened. He wouldn't have noticed, if Kagome hadn't screamed…but scream, she had. Inuyasha was temporarily deafened as he looked around, growling at the small green imp that stood before him, staring at Kagome.

"Get out, get out, GET OUT!" Kagome squealed, but the imp simply stood there. Inuyasha grabbed for his fire rat haori, throwing it over Kagome's chest, and leapt off of the bed, taking the toad by the throat, lifting him off of the ground and to the hanyou's own eye level.

"What the fucking hell do you want? And it had damn well better be good." Inuyasha growled, as Jaken struggled, gasping for air. Kagome continued to squeal quietly, tying the red haori around herself, her face burning with a blush. _Kill him, Inuyasha. Kill the toad. _

"L-L-Lord Sess-h-houmaru wished for a m-meal with y-you and your pp-pries-s-stess. I was just d-d-delivering the m-message." Jaken squeaked, gasping for air, as Inuyasha dug his claws lightly into the side of the demon's small neck.

"Be gone. Don't dare think that I don't know that you know what we were doing. You have demon hearing and a demon nose, though you fucking neglect them. I'll be fucking telling Sesshoumaru about this." Inuyasha shouted, kicking the imp out of the doorway, and slamming the doors, fuming. Waiting until he heard the small toad scamper out of their 'room', shutting the door, and down the hall, Inuyasha finally shouted something incomprehendable, and punched the door, causing it to splinter, before returning to his flustered mate. Kagome glared at him, obviously just as angry as Inuyasha, but for a different reason.

"You should have killed him. I would have done it. I would have killed the damned toad if I were you." Kagome shouted at him, as Inuyasha's eyes widened. _Kagome cursed? Oh shit…_ He mused silently, knowing what was coming at him. "SIT! That's for not killing him. SIT! That's for the marks that are no doubt on my neck. And finally, SIIIIIT!" Kagome screamed, standing up angrily, as Inuyasha's entire body twitched in it's small hole in the ground. Storming off to the bathroom, Inuyasha sighed in his mold in the ground, wondering how he was going to calm himself down.

"Damn toad." Inuyasha shouted, angrily, not even trying to stand himself up. He still had his arousal to deal with, atop of the throbbing pain elsewhere in his body from how pissed Kagome had been when she sat him. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

I had to do an _almost _lemon so that those who were wanting one wouldn't explode, but I think they just might have. X.X Sorry this took so long, guys. I've had major troubles with getting this finished, and then life hates me, as do boys…XP

SOS (Sorry so Short x.x)

* * *

geoff: Sorry it took so long... Life wasn't nice. And I hope that in the last movie (I'm a terrible person, I read the summary of the last episode. Shoot me. -bang heard-) that they get together...or else somebody's goin' down! -shakes fist- ...I tell you, terrible person. Thanks!

InuLover860: Hehe, I love it when he acts like that. So amused. And I'm not sure when I'll explain that note...but if you really, _really _wanted to dig through the story, I'm sure you could figure it out. But you'd have to be a master mind. And I'll try and update soon, but life isn't nice! ...especially to bugs that get attracted to the computer screen. Because I just smashed one, right atop the word "explain". O.O Thanks for the review!

Bookwormjavajunkie: Heh...I'm a bad person. I favor my reviewers. I jumped and quite literally squealed when I saw you had reviewed at me...-jumps into hurt proof bunker- But, yeah. Ouch, physical labour, huh? Hm, that sucks. And he snapped for a reason...actually, a lot of reasons. Like, how he was anxious about Sesshoumaru, not wanting to let her learn _everything_...-smirk- slight twistage coming up in this chapter. Only slight, though. I do have way too much planned, though, and I'm really disapointed that I have to cut some of it. Plus, with literally just less than a month (one day) until school starts up again, I'm pushing myself against a deadline that I KNOW I cannot meet. I've had myself expecting to get so much more done with this story over the summer since frickin' Christmas, and I'm really dissapointed at myself. So, whenever I'm not reading, I'm writing. And you also have to keep in mind, -is jumping back to the topic of the story-, Kagome is only fifteen. She's from the current age; she wasn't expecting on having kids until she was in her late twenties. -smirks- And thank'ya!

Captain Applesauce: Why hello! Heh...I just kind of had an idea and went on it. And it was crucial to the plot. Thank you so much for the compliment! And I hope you like it.


	17. Revelations And Coming Home

I'm starting this on Saturday the 6th, but I doubt I'll finish it today. Love.

* * *

Inuyasha groaned, stretching his back out, glaring daggers through the futon. Once they had ate dinner with Sesshoumaru and Rin, (Sesshoumaru had forced Jaken into his quarters, and Inuyasha grimaced at the thought of what Sesshoumaru said would happen to him when Sesshoumaru retired) Kagome had come straight back to the room and locked herself in their room, not even allowing Inuyasha to come in and get a blanket. But that didn't matter, he was hanyou, and hanyou's didn't need blankets. Still, Inuyasha would have done a lot to have been lying in bed beside Kagome, holding her in his arms. He wouldn't be able to do that for a long while when they returned because of the damned monk. A low growl escaladed from Inuyasha's throat at the thought of what would happen when the monk found the mark, for he knew there was no keeping it from him. _If that damned monk does _**_anything _**_to make Kagome uncomfortable about this, I swear, he'll never forg-- _A small hand tapped Inuyasha's shoulder, causing him to stir from his deep thought. Kagome's scent filled his nostrils, as he leaned his head over to nuzzle her hand on shoulder. She giggled.

"I wanted to stay mad at you, but I didn't sleep. All. Night." Kagome said, yawning deeply as Inuyasha looked up at her. She had small black bags beneath her eyes, and her hair was frizzed and slightly poofy from within the low pony tail that she had tied it up in, and her bangs were everywhere. Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh at the girl as she dozed off, then jerked awake, looking around, then remembering where she was. "Sleep with me?" She asked him most innocently, staring down at him, yawning again. Inuyasha smiled and nodded, standing up and sweeping her off her feet, carrying her bridal style over to their bed, sitting her down on the soft mattress before stepping over her and laying down. Though Kagome immediately fell asleep as Inuyasha's arms snaked around her, holding her tightly to himself, Inuyasha stayed awake, thinking. Was Kagome as afraid of all of _this _as he was? Probably not, she didn't know how horribly she'd be treated. Inuyasha sighed and shook his head, staring down at Kagome.

* * *

"Sango. May I have a word?" Miroku asked, standing up, already being seated by the door. Sango nodded shyly, looking at Kaede, hoping she would have something for her to do, but obviously Kaede wanted the two to have a moment alone. Sango sighed, following Miroku, as he slowly led her through the forest, stopping at the Sacred Tree that Inuyasha had been pinned to so many years. Sitting slowly at the bottom of the tree, he patted the ground beside him, wanting Sango near him, if that were to be all.

"I...Miroku, what is this about?" Sango asked, wanting a few answers before Miroku did the obvious. Miroku chuckled.

"Sango, what are you talking about?" Asked the monk in an innocent tone, and Sango glared.

"That. The innocence. Not touching me. Being sweet and kind. Being all proper and what not. It's...not like you." Sango said, staring into his violet eyes again, melting inside. Miroku's eyes squinted as he examined her entire figure, then widened as he smiled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Sango. I havn't been trying to do anything different, nor have I to the best of my knowledge." Miroku laughed out, and Sango growled, having had enough. "Fine, Sango. If you must rush it. I wanted to bring you out here to be alone with you. Seriously, all I wanted was to enjoy your company. I've never felt like this around any other woman, Sango." Miroku said, lowering his tone a few notches at the last sentence. Sango smiled a brilliant smile, resisting the urge to throw her arms around Miroku's neck right then and kiss him. She was going to juice this a bit more.

"Feel like what, Miroku?" She asked, cautiously, as if she were tip-toeing to get out of the room of a child that had just fallen asleep. Miroku laughed loudly, and grabbed Sango's hand, pulling it towards himself. Sango looked at she and Miroku's intertwined fingers, but looked up as she felt Miroku's fingers meet her chin, then cupping the side of her face. Before she new what was happening, Miroku's lips were firmly pressed against hers, his tongue licking at her lips. Sango's lips twisted into a soft grin as she opened them, allowing Miroku to have his fun as his free arm wrapped around her upper back, hugging her flush against his chest. Sango slid her arms up around his neck, holding onto him tightly, kissing him back with as much passion as she could muster up. She had been waiting for this kiss from the minute that she and Miroku's lips had parted the first time. As Miroku slowly retreated, breathing calmly and smoothly, he smiled, and hugged her.

"Like that, Sango." He whispered into her ear, content.

Sango, on the other hand, was under cardiac arrest. She wanted another kiss, but dared not show her eagerness, that would land her pregnant and in deep shit when it came time for battle. She simply rested her head against Miroku's shoulder, pondering if she was supposed to pour her heart out to Miroku right now, or to wait. _Hell with it. _Sango said silently, looking up at the monk, whose eyes were closed, his lips curled into a small grin. Kissing the corner of his mouth, trying to 'wake' him, she got inches from his face, staring at him still. As his eyes met hers, Sango's throat tightened up.

"Miroku...I...I..." Sango sighed, looking away. "I love you." She said, not looking at Miroku. She knew he cared for her, but wasn't sure if he cared for her _that _extremely much. Miroku in reply kissed Sango's cheek, also trying to bring her back to him. As Sango's eyes slowly slithered over to him, he smiled, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I love you too." He said in a deep, husky tone, kissing her gently on the lips, but then recoiling to stare at her, then embrace her tightly. Sango could have died, but the monk had to keep talking. "What are we...going to do?" He asked quietly, as Sango shrugged.

"I'm not ready for children, and we can't do anything before Naraku is slain..." Sango said, wrapping up everything she had to say, as Miroku laughed, hugging her tightly.

"That's not what I was talking about, and I wouldn't dare think to do _that _before we were married, let alone before I was rid of the air void. I was talking about Inuyasha and Kagome. Are we going to let them know?" He asked, as Sango nodded immediately.

"I at least have to tell Kagome. She would...want to know. She's been trying to get us together for so long." Sango whispered, as Miroku cupped the side of her face again, simply staring at her.

"I should have done this so long ago." Miroku whispered, kissing her once again. Sango wanted to giggle, but couldn't bring herself to as she melted against Miroku, who was now looking at her, having pulled away from the kiss. "So long ago." He said once again, and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a long embrace.

* * *

A mature and slightly aged Shippo stretched out in the chair, looking at his adoptive father, hoping that soon that all would change, and Inuyasha would be his 'father'. Sesshoumaru stared at Shippo in response, and Rin giggled, running into the room and hugged Shippo excitedly.

"Guess who called today!" She squealed, as Shippo's face twisted slightly in thought, then he looked at her.

"My…girlfriend?" He asked, hesitantly, groaning. _I **need **to break up with her, but I just can't let myself do it…maybe Kagome can help when she gets back._

"No, silly, of course not! How dare you think I'd be excited about that retched girl; KIRARA CALLED!" Rin squealed again, as Shippo felt a slight blush crawl over his face. He hadn't seen Kirara in too long… "And you know who she called _for_?" Rin continued, finally releasing Shippo at Sesshoumaru's growl. Shippo simply blinked. _Could Kirara actually have…_

"Uuh…me?" Shippo asked, completely unaware of what was going on. Rin's excited squeal told him that he had guessed right. Sesshoumaru grumbled and said something about fire-cat-fox pups, which made Rin laugh.

"I told her you'd meet her at that new café down the street in thirty minutes." Rin exclaimed, as Shippo slightly freaked out. Darting out of the room, Sesshoumaru chuckled, and Rin burst into laughter. "Young love." She stated contently, walking over to Sesshoumaru and kissing him softly. Sesshoumaru smiled, pulling Rin into the chair next to him, wrapping one arm around her, and continuing his work with the other as Rin snuggled up against his side.

"I think it's time for another pup, darling." Sesshoumaru stated bluntly, as Rin giggled and kissed his cheek, shaking her head.

"Not yet, darling. I want to make sure we have at least one pup that is younger than Inuyasha and Kagome's first." Rin snickered, closing her eyes and all but falling asleep, taking up very little room in the large computer chair.

* * *

Kagome's eyes slowly opened, as she smiled and looked up at Inuyasha. _What time is it? _Inuyasha's hand slowly rose to her forehead as he brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

"Gonna wake up, wench?" He asked, snickering, then scratched her forehead softly with his claw. Kagome smiled and nodded. "Rin came by seven or eight times, and the bastard even came. Wanted to apologize for Jaken, whose health I fear for at the moment. Then he was happy to see that you were resting and gave me shit about a lot of…stuff, and…yeah." Inuyasha said, now blushing. _He gave me shit about producing a fucking heir. _Inuyasha quietly finished, smiling at Kagome, who now had her eyes closed again.

"When are we going home? I need to talk to Rin." Kagome said quietly, looking up at Inuyasha with puppy eyes. Inuyasha smiled and kissed her deeply before giving her the answer she wanted.

"We can leave after the evening meal, and you can sleep on my back the entire way home." He said quietly to her, sighing. He wouldn't be able to hold her at night anymore unless they slept separately from the monk and slayer, who would certainly notice if they disappeared every night. _Damn it. _

"Well, what are we waiting for!" Kagome squealed, before standing up and rushing to pack her things. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long night, but free access of Kagome's thighs was not one of the downsides.

* * *

After a nice meal, a long, long goodbye, and a few hours of traveling, Kagome had fallen asleep. Inuyasha smiled, trudging on with literal leaps and bounds, holding his mate's legs tightly. That was when he heard it.

"Dog shit!" Koga had yelled from below him, and Inuyasha grumbled, glaring at the wolf's small outline, which was steadily growing as he neared the ground.

"Shut it." Inuyasha said, smiling at his opportunity. "_My mate_ is asleep, and we've had a long stay." He bit out, as Koga's face paled and he snarled.

"Fucking liar." Koga screamed, as Kagome slowly stirred, yawning before she realized her new surroundings. "Kagome, tell me that dog terd is lying to me!" Koga screamed, as Kagome blinked and looked at Koga, her hand quickly flying to her mark.

"Uuh…" She bit her lip, whining at Koga's expression. Inuyasha slid Kagome down his back, pulling her into his arms, smiling victoriously. Kagome giggled until she saw Koga rushing at them both, his katana drawn. Inuyasha drew his Tetsuiaga, growling already, as it transformed. Blocking Koga's attack easily, Kagome screamed at Koga.

"Quit this right now!" She screamed, as Koga laughed loudly, stabbing blindly at Inuyasha.

"I cannot, you're my woman, and Inuyasha stole you from me! Kagome, do you see what he's done? HE'S TURNED YOU TO FILTH LIKE HIMSELF!" Koga screamed, finally getting a good stab in Inuyasha's right arm, as Inuyasha's arms turned red for a second.

"You. Will. Never. EVER CALL MY MATE FILTH AGAIN!" Inuyasha screamed, now throwing out wind scars after Koga's every move. Kagome screamed, not knowing what else to do. She had nothing to disarm Koga, and if she sat Inuyasha, he would most definantly die…this was bad.

* * *

Shippo stepped out of the small black sports car, looking around for his fire cat demon 'friend', and sighing, walking up to the small framed girl with bleached blonde hair.

"Hi, is it just you today, sir?" Her bubbly voice already annoyed Shippo, who shook his head.

"Nah, my friend is supposed to be meeting me here, but I don't see her yet…" He said, as the young girl sighed, pulling out two menus and leading him to a small table in front of the window to the large building, which the inside half of the café was the first floor of.

"Can I get you something to drink while you wait for your _friend_?" The girl asked, apparently jealous. Shippo sighed and nodded once again as she placed the menu in front of him.

"Yeah, get me a Sprite." He said quietly, looking up and down the street for Kirara.

"Yes sir, right away." She said and rushed inside, as Shippo slouched in his chair. _How annoying, hitting on the customers… _Shippo thought, letting his eyes unfocus, as he decided that he was outside and in plain view, and Kirara would be able to smell him anyway. Well, that had been a mistake. From out of no where, two small arms wrapped around Shippo's neck, and he heard his name squealed.

"Shippo! Oh my God, it's been to long!" A girl, maybe 5'6, with fiery red hair and a very small waist squealed as she hugged her friend. Shippo snickered, hugging Kirara back, holding onto her as long as he could. Kirara relaxed against him, mumbling something, but Shippo heard none of it.

"Yes, Kirara, it has been too long. Look at you, your humanoid form seems to be catching up to mine in age." He said, flicking her hair away from her face to reveal her oddly colored, grey-green-blue eyes. Oh, how he loved those eyes. Letting go of the girl, he smiled at her, pointing at her chair. "Warning you in advance, the damn waitress is hitting on me, so if you would be as kind to play the girlfriend role.." Shippo started, but Kirara's laughter rang out across the small outside portion of the café.

"Fine, fine, baby, I'd be glad to." She said cheesily, giggling at Shippo, who had grown much better looking since the last time she had seen him. _How can I be attracted to **Shippo**? Ugh…this will prove very interesting…_

The small waitress returned with Shippo's drink, and she smiled, but then glared at Kirara.

"Can I get you anything, Miss?" She asked in a slightly snappy tone, as Kirara giggled and looked into Shippo's eyes before looking over at the girl.

"Yes, I'll take an iced tea, please." Kirara said, flashing a beautiful white smile, as the waitress's glare seemed to have pierced through Kirara, or at least should have.

"Yes, I'll be right back with that." She said, as Kirara giggled and stared longingly back at Shippo. Both burst into laughter as the waitress went inside.

"You're getting better at zis, dahling." Shippo said in a purposely gay tone, as Kirara burst into more laughter.

"Oh, my God, Shippo Ibtonshi, you are NOT going to be gay." Kirara said in a very stern voice, as Shippo chuckled.

"And what would you do if I revealed to you that I was?" Shippo asked, now blushing slightly. Kirara winked.

"I would make you _un_-gay." She said, smiling seductively, rubbing his jean-covered calf muscle with her toes, finally giggling again. Shippo smirked.

"Oke doke, I'm gay." Shippo quickly stated, as Kirara smirked. Slowly leading her sandal covered foot up Shippo's leg, she kick him relatively softly in the groin, as Shippo groaned and doubled over in his chair. Kirara once again burst into laughter.

"Still gay, _baby_?" She asked, smirking at the now whimpering Shippo.

"No, of course not _darling_." Shippo squeaked just as the waitress walked up, and quickly forced himself to straighten up, trying to hide his evident look of pain. The girl placed Kirara's drink on the table, taking Shippo and Kirara's orders, and by the time she left, Shippo was pain free.

"I'd not drink that if I were you." Shippo said, motioning to the drink. Kirara looked down into it and nodded.

"Yeah, I smelled her human spit in it to. Ugh…can't even have a friendly lunch with my friend anymore." She said, leaning over the table and poking Shippo's nose. "I suppose you're getting a bit too good looking." She said, giggling again.

"Eh, I have a girlfriend…and an annoying one to boot. But she's one of Kagome's friends, so I guess it doesn't really matter…but all I ever hear is 'Kagome this, Kagome that, Inuyasha's such a bastard, Kagome can do better, yadda yadda…'" Shippo rolled his eyes. Kirara's spirits sank slightly, but she smiled at him.

"Well, have you 'met' Kagome yet?" Kirara asked casually, chuckling at how innocent the conversation was to outsiders, but how incredibly complex it was to the two that actually understood it.

"Oh yes. Inuyasha was with her as well. If our entire plan ends up working, I'm going to sock Inuyasha in the face, I swear." Shippo smiled, but then realized that Kirara hadn't been informed of the 'plan'. "Oh, we're going to stop _it_ from ever happening. Or at least, we're going to try." He said in a low tone, as Kirara's eyes widened.

"How? How can you change the past? Shippo, this is big! You guys shouldn't be doing this. It wasn't right that they died, but still…" Kirara whispered, and Shippo nodded but then placed one of his hands over hers, which quickly silenced the girl.

"Sesshoumaru, Rin, Koga, Ayame, and I all discussed this deeply. We all decided that we'd try. Rin is so sure that she and Sesshoumaru are going to raise at least one pup along side Kagome and Inuyasha that it's just not right…" Shippo shuddered. The thought of another one of Sesshoumaru's pups running around the house was bad enough, but adding one of Kagome and Inuyasha's on top of that was just cruel. Shippo could already feel his ears aching.

"I need to talk to Sesshoumaru about this." Kirara said, getting a devilish gleam in her eyes. Shippo winced and nodded, leaving the exact cost of the food that they had ordered's worth of money on the table, leading Kirara to his car. As the two slowly climbed into the car and buckled their seatbelts, Kirara stared ahead of them, through the windshield as Shippo checked the mirrors.

"So…what have you been up to lately? Any new boys?" Shippo asked, as a hint of possessiveness shone through his tone. Kirara giggled.

"You're breaking up with this girlfriend soon, right?" She asked, not daring turn her face to Shippo. A blush crawled across both of their faces, as Shippo smiled contently.

"Does Kirara have a crush?" He asked, quite frankly trying to piss Kirara off. She growled loudly.

"Answer the damn question, Shippo. That should answer your question, too." Kirara bit out, and Shippo laughed, still not taking his eyes off the road.

"Yes, Kirara. I'm breaking up with her. _Soon_." Shippo said contently, grabbing Kirara's hand and squeezing it. Kirara loosened up and entwined her fingers with Shippo's, feeling content. Maybe she wouldn't explode on Sesshoumaru quite as bad, but she was still going to be pissed. And she could get away with yelling at Sesshoumaru, because even though her humanoid form didn't show it, she was a few hundred years older than the Inu no Tashio. And she rubbed that in his face. A lot.

* * *

Yippee! This was a quick update. SOS. I'm black. Yup.

Dudes, if you're on myspace, go and add me. I get excited when I get to see readers on anything other than ff . net. Also, if you're on dA, go check me out too.

Myspace: www . myspace . com / strawberry pop rocks

Incase it doesn't work, there's two under scores between strawberry and pop, and one between pop rocks.

dA: www . deviantART . com / Anti – Pyrophobia

Just leave me a comment or add me or do whatever you wish…I really don't care.

Before I am ambushed with reviews saying "Kirara can't be human! She doesn't have a human form! Blah blah!", Read the following.

Sesshoumaru has both a dog and a humanoid form. If he wanted to, he could stay in his dog form all the time. Kirara, in the past, did not know how to transform into her humanoid form. However, when Shippo learned to transform into his fox form, he and Kirara could 'talk', and eventually, Shippo taught Kirara to transform into her humanoid form.

I'm HYPER! –giggles- Review replies time. –muah!-

* * *

**PLEASE READ THE REVIEW REPLY TO **InuYashaTetsusaiga140**, FOR IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT I DO NOT WANT TO REPEAT. THANK YOU.**

Ally Inu: Heh...but you gotta love Jaken, just because he's little and green.

InuYashaTetsusaiga140: Yes, yes, teasing is fun. And, I've stated that there won't be a lemon until later chapters, and I plan to keep that statement true. -wink, wink- Refer to what I said to Ally Inu, and you'll understand my feelings about our lovely toad friend. Awww...nobody loff's me in ways that aren't weird! -cries- And on the 'kids in the story' thing, I've thought about this topic, and I think I have a way to have them have kids, and still have a fair sequel, but you'll have to bear with me; the end won't make any sense at all until the sequel is read. It's a really...wierd idea, and it'll take some time to complete. So...yeah. Look! Your review reply is being read by all! w00t for you!

strange: Yippee! I'm not the only one with problems. Let me offer you a complementary pint of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. Might I recommend Cherry Garcia? -Blink-

Voakands: Yes, I've realized that problem too. I'm probably going to go through and minorly re-write to make things more realistic and play out better before I start on the sequel, if there even is a sequel, so you all can have something to chew on while I get it started. Thanks for the compliments! -big grin-

Foreverluv: Heh, I knew people would do that. But I had to do it, it fits the chapter **so **well. And thanks...X.X That was a very icky lime to write. I hope it sounded all right, I was cracking up the entire time I was writing it, then I was just like "uuuuh...o.o" when I was proofing the chapter. I tried not to make this one too terribly short.

Ryoko Ao Midori: Whaaat are you talking about? -blink- Please use spell check, and if that's not in the review window (I don't think it is, but I'm not sure), then copy it into your email and spell check it there...and review with stuff that I'll understand. I tried to do that politely, but sorry if I came off snappy. X.X I'm a big grammar stickler.

Kairi of Camen: Heh, I can understand you there. Thanks very much for the review!

Liquidmoon: Hehehehe...-flutters eyelashes innocently, twirls hair- Me? A Tease? NEVER! -blink, blink- Why thank you! And yes, I tried to make everything (even in the future) a bit more realistic, but I've got a kicker that I'll probably have to explain to a butt load of people in an FAQ, I'll probably just do it in one review and have everybody read it. Mushy heart. And I'll update as soon as the chapter meets my length expectations...o.o;

To Anyone I Seem To Have Forgotten: I review reply to all of those whom I see fit. I very much so appreciate all of your reviews, but if all that you say is "good story" or "update soon", don't expect a reply. I appreciate these compliments very much, but I find it kind of annoying. Thanks again!

Anniechanalc: You make me giggle. Even though your review made no sense at all, it made me giggle. ... I'm still giggling. And on the lemon thing: I'm not gonna do a lemon until later on in the story, that's what my icky icky lime was for. -shudder- And that's nice that it rocks your sox, but if it really rocked...IT'D ROCK YOUR FACE OFF! -blink- And that isn't Shippo's reincarnation, that's the actual Shippo. As is it the actual Rin, and the actual Sesshoumaru. They're demon (see latest chapter for Rin's explanation) so they lived longer. And yes, you've got the rapist right, but no, he didn't mark her. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything about the rapist any more, so that those who don't have it yet can be surprised. And to your reply on chapter 13: **O**.**O**'''

myralee: Why so sad? Is it because of my icky lime? (Sorry, I hated that thing. -dies-) Hehe, I was actually thinking about that last night. But if you note that somewhere along the way, I did say that appearance would stay the same. And, because Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father was full demon, Izayoi would not need to be as strong as Kagome would because their father would not be vulnerable one night a month. So...yeah. That's a slight explanation on that, and I'll try and get back to you with more later on when I have more time to think on it. Yay! I'm so excited everyone likes this story, I have a self esteem problem(please allow me to go and hide in the closet in case any of my friends read this), and I really didn't think that this story was going to amount to much, and I do realize that my writing has changed since the beginning, so once I'm done, as I've said before, I'm gonna go back in and re-write, making the rape more of an object, as you also mentioned. Thanks, and I'm gonna start writing soon again tonight! Wow, that was a long reply. -falls over-


	18. Too Many Tears

Chapter started Wednesday, August 10th. Not expected to be out soon, sorry dudes.

* * *

"Ooh Sesshoumaru…where are you, little doggie?" Kirara called out, looking around the mansion. Two quick sniffs of the air told her that he was in the kitchen. Kirara's blood boiled. If she was going to get an entirely new set of memories of her mistress dying, she was going to make Sesshoumaru pay for it. The fire demon growled and raced into the kitchen, slamming the door against the wall. There, she found Sesshoumaru fixing a pot of American coffee. She shuddered. "You're changing the past! We talked about this, and you said you wouldn't do it, damn it!" Kirara screamed, as Sesshoumaru laughed and turned around, looking at the girl. His long, silver hair now reached his knees, and was as silky as ever. He had a few wrinkled from having raises as many 'pups' as he had, but other than that, he looked exactly like he had five hundred years ago. That was, if you excluded the constant hurt look in his eyes that he had gained the day that he had found Kagome and Inuyasha's bodies. Kirara tried to ignore that aspect of him, and continued growling at him.

"Aah, Kirara, it's great to see you too. Come and give 'uncle' a hug." Sesshoumaru said, cackling. Kirara roared at him angrily, but then quickly got her demon blood back into control. "I love how much younger than me you look." Sesshoumaru said, walking over and taking a small handful of her hair, twirling it in his fingers. "I do love your hair color. Always have." He laughed at himself.

"Damn it, Sesshoumaru, you know I am your elder, even though I look nothing of it. Now answer my question; why did you go back on what you told me when I left? You told me that you were not going to change it, because it was too much of a risk. That we all would be different, that we'd have two sets of memories, and it wouldn't be fair. Damn it, I don't want to watch Sango die again! It was painful enough the first time, and you know how horribly those nightmares are!" Kirara screamed, tears pouring down her face silently. Sesshoumaru sighed and brought the young girl into his arms in simple effort to comfort her, as he smiled. She hadn't grown still, and he still towered over her. Good.

"Kirara, I…am sorry. I tried to get in touch with you, really I did. But I couldn't trace you. I even went to America to search, and you weren't fucking there. Shippo, Rin, Koga, Ayame and myself all talked about this. We all agreed that you would forgive us. We all agreed that we had to try and get them back." Sesshoumaru said quietly, and Kirara screamed in anger, then continued to cry.

"I can't believe you! You're ruining everything!" Kirara screamed, clutching Sesshoumaru's shirt tightly, as the dog demon stared down at the small girl sobbing in his arms. _What is she talking about… _

* * *

_-flashback-_

Sango looked up at the dog demon, whose eyes were blood shot. Sango felt tears welling up in her own eyes, as she placed a hand silently on her slightly swelled stomach. Soon, she would bear a child that would be named after Inuyasha or Kagome. But that was not her reason for seeing the demon.

"Kagome is of the future. In five hundred years, should you still be alive, you'll find her. You _will _find her, damn it, and you're going to save her." Sango hissed, glaring daggers through the dog demon, who nodded. He smelled her pregnancy, and sighed. She had no doubt conceived during she and the monk's "attempts" to comfort each other.

"I promise you I will. I'll get her back. And I will keep Shippo and Kirara near me after you have gone, and your descendants shall always be under my watch." Sesshoumaru vowed to Sango, offering her a hand shake. Sango forced a smile as silent tears streamed down her face as she took Sesshoumaru's hand, and shook it firmly. She would be able to die peacefully now, no matter how she was to die.

_-end flashback-_

* * *

"Kirara, this is what she ordered me to do. Five hundred years ago, while she was still pregnant with the twins, Inuyasha and Kagome, she made me vow to get her back. To watch you and Shippo, and to watch her descendants was my choice. But she made me vow to get them back. I'm not going to make all of my work watching you and Shippo and all of their perverted children and grand children and great grand children and so on in vain. I'm going to make Sango happy, even if she'll never know I did it." Sesshoumaru whispered, biting his lip. This was no time to cry, not while he was trying to comfort his surrogate first female pup. Kirara looked up at him.

"But you promised me. You promised me that you would not hurt me again. Never again. You promised, Sesshoumaru, and you're lying through your God damned teeth." Kirara screamed, collapsing to her knees, as Sesshoumaru knelt beside her.

"Kirara. You know how horribly depressed Sango was after Kagome and Inuyasha passed." Sesshoumaru's throat tightened. "Think of what your mistress would want, Kirara. Think of Sango." He whispered, and Kirara sobbed once more, touching her forehead to the floor, crying.

The door quietly opened, and for the second that Sesshoumaru and Shippo's eyes met, Shippo knew what was wrong with Kirara. Quickly rushing to her side, Kirara laid her head in Shippo's lap, as Sesshoumaru smirked and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly.

Shippo looked down at the crying girl, not knowing what to do beside rub her back softly, hoping that she would quit crying. Seeing her cry pulled at his heart strings in an odd way, and he didn't like it. Now he knew how Inuyasha must have felt when Kagome cried. _Whoa...wait. Does that mean that I'm in love with Kirara? She's hundreds of years older than me... _Kirara looked up at her current head rest, and threw her arms around his neck, no longer crying. Shippo wrapped his arms around her waist, smiling contently, hugging her flush against himself. _Screw ages. She looks younger than me. _Nuzzling Kirara's neck softly, the boy sniffed her silently. She didn't smell like she used to. She smelled...better. A soft veil of salty water covered her true scent, but still, it didn't matter. Kirara pulled herself away from Shippo, looking him in the eyes.

"Shippo...I-" Kirara started, but Shippo pecked her on the lips to silence her.

"I know, Kirara. Me too." He whispered, hugging her again. Kirara's face lit up red as she rested her forehead against Shippo's shoulder, closing her eyes. Then, she heard it. The door flying open, and a human's scream.

"SHIMONU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" The girl shouted. Shippo's eyes flew open as she stared at the floor, quickly letting go of Kirara, even though his gut feeling told him not to.

"Eri, it's not what you think. Really. Kirara was remembering when her mother die-" Eri's scream cut him off.

"Bull shit, it's not what I think! You're making it up! This girl! She's the one you've been seeing!" Eri screamed, as Shippo winced, but then stared at his girlfriend.

"What do you...mean...seeing? Eri, Kirara just got into town earlier today. Sesshoumaru said something that upset her, something about Sang...her mother, and she was crying. You expect me to just say 'I have a girlfriend, go cry to Rin.'? Shippo shouted, glaring at Eri, who was still panting for air, angrily.

"Yeah, you should have!" She screamed, and Shippo growled loudly.

"You have _**GOT **_to be kidding me. After ALL those things that Kagome told me, you just turn out to be the exact opposite." Shippo shouted, growling at Eri, walking back to Kirara. "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to fucking do this." Shippo shouted angrily, hugging Kirara again. Kirara pushed herself away from Shippo, staring at Eri quite obviously.

"He didn't tell you, did he? Sesshoumaru's going to get it now, the bastard." Kirara roared, as Shippo twitched, staring at Eri.

"What are you talking about? Damn it.." he mumbled, as Kirara laughed.

"You really don't know. She's one of Miroku and Sango's, ya idiot. Dear God, you must be the stupidest person I fucking know." Kirara screamed, tears streaming down her face, as she walked up to Eri and hugged her. "Don't ask, because I'm not going to explain. But my ancestors and your ancestors were very close, and...just don't ask." Kirara said, inhaling Eri's scent. It was exactly the same as Sango's had been after she and Miroku were married. Eri stood there, silently, half in shock that the girl that her boyfriend had been cheating on her was now hugging her, and half in shock that Shimonu was cheating on her with a girl with bright red hair. Shippo looked away, trying to mask the tears in his eyes.

"Kirara, I...I'm sorry." He said, as Kirara quickly let go of Eri and spun around, staring at Shippo.

"Never say you're sorry for something as stupid as that _ever again_, you hear?" She said quietly, to where Shippo barely even heard it himself, as Kirara darted out of the large kitchen, and made her way to her bedroom...or the room that had been hers before. She prayed it was still 'hers'.

"I...Eri...you've got to believe me." Shippo whispered, then mentally slapped himself. He was going to break up with her, he couldn't get her good with him again!

"Shimonu...I...I don't think that you were cheating on me, ok? But we're not doing so great. We need to quit this all. Just be friends for a while." Eri said quietly, masking the pain in her tone very well. Shippo's smile went un-noticed to Eri, who quickly turned around and made a bee line towards the door.

"Eri, check. Kirara, far from check." Shippo whispered to himself, following Kirara's scent up to what had in the past been her room. He shuddered at what she'd do when she found out that he had taken it for his room, but knew she would be ok with it when he told her the reason.

* * *

Kagome had spent the past few minutes looking for something to substitute as a bow and arrow, fumed loudly, and screamed as Inuyasha's wind scar came incredibly close to Koga, who was wearing out. Inuyasha, on the other hand, looked like he had just drank fifteen energy drinks, and was still on the buzz that they began with.

"Koga!" Kagome screamed in agony, watching as he barely dodged Inuyasha's wind scars.

"Kagome, turn away. I don't want my mate witnessing as I slaughter a worthless wolf." Inuyasha demanded, as Kagome growled, screaming again.

"Just stop it! Both of you! I never loved you, Koga, and I've told you that! I love Inuyasha, and _always have_, but you never let me get ANYTHING through your thick skull! Now quit trying to hurt Inuyasha, and you had better do the same!" Kagome screamed, as both men inwardly winced at the anger in Kagome's tone, but neither backed down. "It's not that I don't have feelings for you, they're just no-" Inuyasha charged at Koga. "Sit!" Kagome screamed, whimpering.

"See, dog shit? You _did _force yourself onto her. She's my woman, and I'm taking her back to my den right now to mate her before you can." Koga said, venom flowing into his tone. Kagome exploded. She tackled Koga to the ground, punching blindly as hard as she could. Harder than she ever imagined she could punch, but she never thought she would be this incredibly mad.

"Oh no you are not! I will NEVER be your damn woman. You aren't going to own me. If I'm bonded to anyone for the rest of my life, it's going to be the fucking man that's dug into the ground right fucking now. You're an insignificant, selfish BASTARD who isn't going to listen to any God DAMN reasoning, and if you can't accept the agony of defeat, then I NEVER want to see you again!" Kagome screamed, as Koga tried to wrestle the girl off of his form, but was unable to. Kagome had completely lost it.

"Kagome, settle down!" Inuyasha screamed, darting towards his mate, with blood streaming down his arm. He didn't care about Koga anymore, well, not at the moment, at least. He was most concerned about Kagome, and what Koga was going to do to her when he was free of her angry attack. Grabbing her and pulling her into his arms, and not in a loving way, either, he had trouble keeping the girl still. Koga sat up, but winced. Kagome had successfully broken his nose, and probably broken his cheek in more than one place. And she didn't know it, but her knuckles were bleeding.

"God...damn. I thought that I loved you Kagome, but I suddenly see that you're really in love with dog shit, not just saying that to make him happy. Have fun bearing his filthy pups." Koga snarled, slowly making his way away from the two. Kagome growled, trying to get out of Inuyasha's arms, even dragging her nails down his forearms. Inuyasha yelped in pain, but simply kept his hold on Kagome.

"Kagome! Settle down, damn it!" Inuyasha screamed, growling loudly, but Kagome refused to.

"Let me go, Inuyasha! Koga needs to pay for what he said! He had no righ..oof!" Inuyasha growled, having had enough, as he tackled Kagome to the ground, straddling her hips. No sooner had Kagome recognized their position did she notice that Inuyasha was forcefully kissing her. But now was not the time. She slapped her hands against his chest and pushed him away with all of her strength, but the hanyou did not stop. He didn't even budge. Resting one hand beneath Kagome's lower neck, he pinched her softly, as Kagome giggled and finally settled down. Inuyasha wasn't going to move, and that was for sure.

"You better, wench?" Inuyasha growled angrily, staring down at his mate. Kagome rolled her eyes and nodded, as Inuyasha forced his forehead against Kagome, as she whimpered in almost pain. "I said, _are you better_?" Inuyasha demanded angrily, as Kagome nodded quietly. "Good." Inuyasha growled loudly, standing up, taking the girl's hand. "Get on my back, we're going to your time." Inuyasha said angrily, as Kagome turned and looked away in the direction that Koga had disappeared. Inuyasha snarled and jerked Kagome to himself. "I said, get on my God damn back." Inuyasha snarled, as Kagome nodded quietly, and crawled onto his back.

* * *

Inuyasha sighed, laying Kagome down on her bed, and quickly covering the girl with the thick blankets on her bed. Looking over her small bulge in the covers, Inuyasha's heart ached. _She made me think she loved me, but she actually loves that wolf bastard Koga. _A small rumble roused from Inuyasha's throat as he looked at Kagome's angelic sleeping face, as he darted out of the room and down into the Higurashi's small kitchen.

"Inuyasha." Mrs. Higurashi's voice rang out from a far corner of the kitchen, as she held a steaming cup of tea. Inuyasha's eyes met those of the weary old woman, as he sighed.

"Hello. I just thought I'd bring your daughter back. I'm gonna be down the well." He said quickly, all in one breath, as he darted for the door. Mrs. Higurashi cleared her throat, though, which was an even more effective stop than a sit. Inuyasha winced.

"You looked horrible when you brought Kagome in. You look worse now. What's going on between you and my daughter?" The woman asked, looking into Inuyasha's golden eyes which shone, even through the dim lighting of the room.

"A lot less than I thought." Inuyasha growled, sighing and leaning against the wall. As Kagome's mother looked into Inuyasha's eyes and saw genuine pain, her heart ached a bit. Not wanting to snoop, but wanting to comfort Inuyasha, the woman sighed and walked over to the table, sitting down and pushing out a chair for Inuyasha. The half demon quickly sat down, but looked away from her.

"Inuyasha, my daughter loves you more than you could ever know. I don't know what she did, and I'm not going to ask you to tell me, but believe me. As her mother, I know practically everything about Kagome. She's told me how many times you've saved her. She cried to me whenever things happened with Kikyo. I know a lot more about you five than you could imagine." The woman said, smiling at Inuyasha, who was now staring at here, wide eyed.

"You know about Ki..." Inuyasha's eyes wandered off to the other side of the room, as the space between the wall and the floor suddenly became incredibly interesting. "You know that I've got to destroy Kikyo, then, don't you?" Inuyasha asked, as his voice squeaked a little.

"She's not the Kikyo you fell in love with. She is merely grave soil and clay with _Kagome's _soul to fill her. Once you realize this, Inuyasha, it shouldn't be too hard." The woman whispered, as she placed her hand comfortingly over Inuyasha's, knowing that the hanyou had tears streaming down his face, though he dare not face her to show her that he was being 'weak'.

"I know... But if Kagome actually loves me, then why does she act like that to the damn bast...Koga?" Inuyasha blurted out, barely able to keep his voice steady.

"Because of me." Inuyasha looked over at the woman. "As her father and I raised Kagome, Inuyasha, we taught her to never hurt anyone unless absolutely needed. That is how she was taught, and that is how I hope she will always be. It is part of her personality to be _that_ nice, Inuyasha. I thought you would be able to understand that without anyone telling you." Mrs. Higurashi whispered, now shaken up at the mention of her husband. Inuyasha's sigh told the older woman that he was sorry, but it didn't do anything.

"And even though you may know Kagome as the cheery, bubbly girl that you've no doubt fallen for, she's nothing compared to what she was before the accident. Kagome was depressed for a few years after her father died." She sighed, as Inuyasha simply stared at her. _I don't remember father's death, but I do remember mother crying...and then when mother was murdered... _Inuyasha let a low growl from escape from his throat, as Mrs. Higurashi stared at him.

"I forgot. Your parents passed on when you were small, too, didn't they?" Kagome's mom asked quietly, as Inuyasha nodded in a rather small manner. He didn't like talking about them, why hadn't Kagome told her about this? Inuyasha sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"It's not something I like to talk about." He said bluntly, as Mrs. Higurashi nodded and chuckled, squeezing his hand softly.

"I understand." She whispered quietly, just noticing Kagome's dark figure in the doorway. She smiled at her daughter, but not noticeably enough for Inuyasha to notice her.

"It's just...everyone expects me to be so hard shelled, and when I do decide to let my damn guard down, they go ballistic." Inuyasha said, sighing at Mrs. Higurashi, who nodded. "I mean, Kagome is okay to do that to, but I can't tell her everything about my past...it would ruin her. She probably wouldn't think of me the same." Inuyasha whispered, as Mrs. Higurashi nodded again, standing up.

"I'll...leave you two alone." She said almost silently, as Inuyasha's eyes widened, as he spun around to see Kagome. Just as her mother disappeared from the room, a low growl escaped from his throat.

"What, you want me to take you to Koga's den?" Inuyasha snarled, as Kagome whimpered, taking a step out of the shadows. Inuyasha wondered how he had ignored Kagome's presence for so long...how long had she been there!

"You _know _how I feel about you, Inuyasha. How would you feel if this was how I reacted every time you got near Kikyo?" Kagome bit out, tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to hurt Inuyasha, but she didn't want to be hurt, either. Well, didn't want to be hurt any more than she obviously already was.

It took Inuyasha a bit to recoil from that one. _That's exactly what I do, isn't it? I run off to Kikyo... _Inuyasha whined, looking at Kagome.

"You know, I hoped us becoming mates would make you trust me a little bit more, but I guess not." Kagome said, angrily, and stormed across the room, on the way to the door.

"So that's the only reason why you agreed? Because I would _trust _you?" Inuyasha asked innocently, as Kagome froze, her hand on the doorknob.

"OF COURSE it's not the reason! Dear God, you're such an IDIOT! I agreed because I love you, and I'm sick of being hurt, and I thought that if we were mates or whatever that you would finally love JUST ME, and not me _and _**_her_**. I agreed because that meant that we could be together, Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, throwing the door open and storming out into the courtyard of the shrine.

* * *

As it sit here, eating my canteloup(e) on the last day of summer, I finally decide that I am content with how much I got done on this story this summer, despite how little it actually was.

Mmmm, canteloup(e) sure is dandy. -offers to all reviewers-

So, while you all read this, just know that from now on, if I don't update much, it is not by my own choice. I'll have school. Homework. Friends. Boys. Homework. Dance team. Games. ... Homework. Strawberry Fanta. The White People Festival. The White Eagle Festival. (White People and White Eagle are the same thing. My mom, aunt and cousin are just weird.)

So I WILL update, you'll probably just have to be more patient.

Next Chapter! -rough outline-: The last of the InuyashaxKagome fluff for a while. Rin and Kagome spend quality time together, only to be barged in on by the source of Inuyasha's anger. PLEANTY of beating on the monk, and a scare that is truly worthy of shitting one's pants. Shippo and Kirara, friends, or more than?

* * *

Review Replies Time!

Remember, if you didn't get a reply, it's not because I didn't read your review, because I read them ALL, and am very thankful. I only reply to reviews that stick out to me. Like my bangs.

larthawarn: Heh, yes, Koga is being mean. But he has to be. Think about it: He's proclaimed his love for Kagome, and she goes off and gets a mate while he's doing God knows what with Ayame (tee hee.), wouldn't you be angry as well? Oh well, he got punished. And tee hee, Shippo and Kirara have had a thing going for each other since they were young. That memory will be revealed later, though. -giggles- I think I may be suffering from HVS (horny virgin syndrome. -giggles- but...yeah. So there might be a lemon sooner than I expected, though it might not be between Kagome and Inuyasha. -dies- my lime was icky, so my lemon will by sick. Puke-TASTICAL! Not puke-testicle. All though were one of my friends –coughSTEVEcough- to read this, he would scream "I love boobies!" right now in a very high pitched voice. But whatever. Ignore ALL of that if you wish. And I'm trying to get it out quickly, and I almost died without posting much KagomexInuyasha action. Seriously, I did.

angelXofXpeace: Yes, I had to end it there. Quite literally, had to. -giggles- evil me had a gun to good me's head, and said that if I didn't end it there, evil me would for-eh-vur take over. And good me couldn't let that happen.

InuYashaTetsusaiga140: Wow, just to inform you, it took me (quite literally) like five minutes to get your name typed right. -diiiiies- All rightey, down to business. You're very welcome. And tee hee, if I weren't already in that position, I would in ways that _are_ weird. But oh well. Maybe when I get over it, who knoez!11!strawberryzandeyeliner!111! I love sequels too. Jaken...you wanna go, b-tch? -Amanda and Jaken have a dance-a-thon- ... anyways... And thank you again. I knew I had to get her in there. I mean, come on. If you watch Inuyasha in America on Adult Swim, you've seen that in the newest (when they show it on Saturday) ending, they have pictures of Kagome and Inuyasha together (check mark), Miroku and Sango together (check mark), and Shippo and Kirara together(check mark to be). And...yeah! I just started thinking about it, and Kirara is actually based EXACTLY off of one of my best friends. -hugs- So...yeah. She's going to lost her virginity to a fox demon. -snickers- I shall tell her that once I'm done typing up reviews. xD And I quote her "O.o nooooo...They aren't what I'm looking for." hehe. Well... blink Ningen form? -dies of stupidity- Do you mean human form that shows that she's older than Fluffy? I'll explain that either in this chapter, or a later chapter. XP I lurve you!

Havokmastr3133: Hehe. I wish I could. But I caaaaaaaan't.

Ryoko Ao Midroi: Hehe. -Hands paper bag- Don't die on me. The police would search your computer, find my icky lime, report me to and the story would get deleted! –sob-

surfbratt: Thankey. I usually read a fiction until I finish it. -dies- which usually takes a while.

Anniechanalc: Why yes, yes I am available for bed time stories. Because I'm poor and want money. -point- AND OMFG...-sits and stares at dress- it's so shiny and sparkly and PRETTY... -moves dress a little, fawns over s'more- It's almost as beautiful as Brandon Flowers when he smiles. Just almost. Aah, he's sexy. And I was probably one of the closest people (physically) to him at the concert. –giggles half to death-

Kei-Ookami.kara.mori: PASTRIES! -tackle glomp-

Bookwormjavajunkie: FINALLY! I thought you were dead. No, seriously, I did. XX;; And hehe, I couldn't resist. Jaken is just...too fun to toy with. -pokes Jaken with a stick-  
Jaken: You are so mean to me! You just wait until I tell Lord Sesshoumaru of this! -fumes-  
Alrightey. -K.O.'s Jaken- much better. And heh, I'm actually basing Kirara's humanoid form exactly off of one of my best friends over the internet. And wow, where have I been? I've never seen a KiraraxShippo pairing before...hm. I'll have to search that. Anyways, thanks for the review! -hug-

Inuhpgirl: Hehe, thankey! I kind of went out on a limb, because I'd never seen a fic before with Kirara as a human. And I hope that this is soon enough... -gives you some of mom's pasta salad- It's the best. Ever. I promise.

Edit: Sorry this took so long to post. Amanda has dial up, see. And when city phone lines flip out, dial up doesn't work. w00t! BIG THUNDER! –giggles uncontrollably- sorry, I'm excited. Amanda just got back from the white people festival. Saw _certain _people. Made me smile. Aah, my headphones just spazzed out. I'm off to start on the next chapter.


	19. Surprises All Around

Ahaha, I have no internet. Beyotch. And my headphones aren't working. But I know what someone smells like, and that makes me happy enough. Yay! For the White People Festival.

I'm very, very sorry this took so long to get out.

Chapter in loving memory of Chelsea Gerbitz, and also Daisy Dog Rinke. May they both rest in peace.

* * *

Kagome ran into the well house, hurling herself over the edge of the well, and starting to climb up the side of the well as soon as the blue-violet swirl of the time warp disappeared. Just as she lifted herself over the side, Inuyasha appeared with a blue shine of light, which motivated Kagome to start sprinting through the forest in which ever direction seemed to close the space of the clearing in the closest. This ended up being towards the east.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha screamed, but Kagome didn't look back. She just kept running, tears running down her face all the way. After a minute or so, the girl tripped over a random tree branch that was down. Kagome cried out in pain as she fell to the ground, the dirt showing no mercy as Kagome's body collided with the hard earth. Crying out again, unable to move, she sank to the ground and cried, laying there.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered, staring at her.

"NO!" She screamed, still not moving. Inuyasha froze, his hand out stretched, wanting to hold her, especially after she had fallen and surely twisted her ankle, if not broken it. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO COME NEAR ME! GET AWAY!" Kagome screamed, gasping for air, still having not moved.

"Kagome, listen to me. You don't underst-" Kagome simply screamed out a sob that silenced Inuyasha.

"I do too understand!" The girl cried, now hunched over on the ground, holding her throbbing right ankle. "I understand that you had strong feelings for me _at the time_, and you love Kikyo again. It makes sense. You can leave me here. Please, JUST LEAVE!" Kagome screamed, as Inuyasha shook his head.

"I'm your mate, Kagome. I don't care if we never talk to each other again, I have to be near you. Not want to, HAVE TO." Inuyasha finally screamed back, charging forward and scooping the sobbing girl into his arms. At first, she struggled, but then finally cried into his chest, clutching his haori. "Kagome, I _need you_. You really don't understand me, do you?" Inuyasha asked calmly, looking down at her.

"Inuyasha…take me to Sango. I need some time to myself." The girl whispered, still crying, after a few minutes when she had finally gained use of her voice. Inuyasha shook his head in refusal.

"No, Kagome. I won't have my damn mate staying angry with me. If I can't be mad at you, then you sure as HELL can't be mad at me." Inuyasha growled, still holding the girl against his chest. "I forgive you for the Koga thing. Your mom explained." Inuyasha whispered into her ear, closing his eyes. Kagome unleashed an entirely new wave of tears, clutching Inuyasha's hands and hair now, not just the haori. Inuyasha sighed, wrapping his hands around her back and pulling her flush against himself, kissing her on the top of the head.

"I'm…so…sorry." Kagome choked out through her crying, as Inuyasha nodded and pulled her chin up so he could look her in the eyes.

"I love you, and _only _you, Kagome. Get it straight. I never even had the urge to mate Kikyo. Never even knew what it was. When I woke up, and saw you, and learned your name, and smelled your scent for the first time, my only instinct, my only thoughts were to mate this girl. And I didn't even know you. This must be how Sesshoumaru feels for Rin. I knew what I had to do, Kagome, and I couldn't hold it off for much longer. I love you…damn it." Inuyasha ended up whispering into her ear, as she nodded, the only tears running down her face were now silent ones.

"The same goes for you." She managed to whisper out, trying to add onto it, but couldn't seem to get her breath enough before crying more once again. "Not Koga, or Houjo, or anyone. Inuyasha, and only Inuyasha." She said quietly, resting her hands at the sides of his face, wanting to kiss him, but not knowing if now was the right time.

* * *

After 'Shimonu' had explained the reason why he had 'stolen' Kirara's room, they ended up cuddling on his bed.

"You really missed me that much that you wanted to be in a room where my scent dominated everything?" Kirara asked quietly, as Shippo nodded, kissing her neck softly, nicking her once in a while with his fangs, although he wanted to do much more.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" He asked quietly, looking around the room silently, smiling at the fact that her scent was overriding everything that he had undone.

"That's probably the most romantic thing a guy has _ever_ done for me." She whispered, looking him in the eyes. Shippo smiled and hugged her, resting his chin against her neck, his back pressed up against the wall of the small room. The single small oak door in the opposite corner was shut and had a matching oak desk in front of it, 'in case the dog started to snoop.' The way Shippo had worded it had made Kirara laugh so hard she ended up with tears in her eyes. The small rectangular room had a small closet with sliding mirror doors, and a wall mounted TV, no doubt with all the features inside.

"Really? It's one of the least romantic things I've ever done." Shippo laughed, smiling down at her. Kirara smiled at him, then looked away, staring at the mirror doors. It was at that point that she realized how horrible she looked. Her eyes were too close together, and she was way too chubby…and her hair was even horrid. _Nothing a bit of dieting and hair dye can't change. _She thought contently, as she looked back up at her new lover. It struck her. They were together. Not officially, but they might as well have been. Friends didn't cuddle on other friends' beds. Well… Kirara sighed. She had been in America for quite some time, and could barely remember Japanese 'courting'…rules, if you will.

"When will Kagome and Inuyasha be back?" Kirara asked almost silently, as Shippo smiled and ran his fingers through her neon red hair which he loved. It was what made Kirara…well, it was what made her Kirara.

"They should be back soon. They went to go and visit Sesshoumaru in the past, and nothing's going to happen for at least another few months unless they change up the battles too. God, I hope not…" Shippo whispered, as Kirara stared up at him, tears forming in her eyes. She quickly shut them. "Kirara, they'll be fine. We're going to get them back. We're going to kill all of his incarnations, and we're going to burn his body, and then burn the ashes. Miroku's not going to take the beads off, and he and Sango won't die for a long time." Shippo said quietly, and kissed her on the lips, just a small peck, but kept his lips pressed against hers for quite some time. It was Kirara who finally pulled away and laid her head against Shippo's chest, yanking at a blanket on the ground, motioning that she wanted to be covered. Shippo smiled widely and covered the two of them up, as Kirara relaxed and sighed, closing her eyes.

"So what is going to happen? How are we to know what memories are now correct, and are wrong? Shippo…this could change so much. Rin and Sesshoumaru could lose some of their children. This is huge. Did you guys take this into consideration?" Kirara asked peacefully, as Shippo shuddered. He would have to be sure to tell Inuyasha to make sure to keep Kirara safe, and teach her to transform to her humanoid form. He wanted her to be happy in case anything turned out differently, and he ended up meeting an early demise.

"We've checked out almost every possible angle. The one we suspect will happen is that we will completely forget everything, because we will have lived an entirely new life. We'll never know anything different…accept for Sesshoumaru, Kagome, and Inuyasha. Maybe Rin and myself if he ever tells us. But I wouldn't ever tell you. I couldn't, Kirara. I'd have to tell you that Sango and Miroku died after only having one child. That…I couldn't do it. I couldn't break your heart. Even if it meant that you and I were not together, I couldn't tell you." Shippo whispered, kissing her once again on the lips softly, as Kirara simply stared at him.

"What else might happen?" She asked, pulling away from the kiss one more. Shippo groaned and looked down at the girl in his arms contently.

"We'll have a blank spot in our memory. Sesshoumaru left that note to himself so he would know. He'd tell Rin. Maybe myself. I still wouldn't tell you. I'm so sorry, Kirara…" He whispered, as he continued. "And the final one is that we'll have two sets of memories. Whether or not we'll be able to keep the two separate is beyond us." Shippo whispered, as tears filled Kirara's eyes.

"Two of Sango's deaths? Two of Miroku's deaths? Two of the twins' deaths? Two of Kiano's deaths? Two of Mikota and Kisho's deaths? Shippo…I can't take it." She said, but Shippo finally silenced the girl with a passionate kiss.

The door swung open, despite the desk in front of it. Sesshoumaru's cold laughter filled the room, and Shippo didn't even care to look. He simply flipped his middle finger up and pointed it in the general direction of the door, keeping one hand on the small of Kirara's back, still kissing her.

"Well, this'll be interesting to explain. Eri's on the phone for you, Shippo." He said coldly, still cracking up.

Shippo's growl filled his throat and vibrated into Kirara's as she giggled and pulled away, and Shippo took the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Shimonu? Baby?" She asked, as Kirara gave him an odd look.

"Shi…monu, you said…" Shippo cut her off with a nod, covering her mouth, listening to the phone.

"Uh, Eri? We broke up a few hours ago. I'm no longer entitled to pet names. I'm sorry that was so harsh." Shippo said quietly, looking into Kirara's eyes, and feeling his 'father's' resting upon his skull.

"Oh. My God. You really meant it." She had started to cry. Shippo shuddered.

"Eri…don't cry…it's nothing to be sad about…you said yourself that things weren't going so great…" Shippo said quietly, but her scream of agony and distress cut him off.

"OH MY GOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" She cried into the phone, and hung it up. Shippo shuddered and hit the off button, as both Kirara and Sesshoumaru burst from straight, serious faces into spontaneous laughter.

"That's why I didn't allow you to date humans before." Sesshoumaru completed his thoughts and walked out of the room, leaving the talk about mates for later. His two 'children' were together. …wow.

Shippo's eyes slowly slid down Kirara's face, as he caught her eyes, smiling at her. Kirara managed a weak smile back at him, as she giggled nervously.

"Sesshoumaru is going to…" Kirara trailed off as Shippo nodded and pulled her tightly to his chest, and Kirara smiled and closed her eyes, inhaling his scent.

"I know. And I really don't care." Shippo whispered as he kissed Kirara's forehead, smiling at her.

* * *

"Finally?" Rin asked quietly, as she looked up at Sesshoumaru. The dog demon simply rolled his eyes and nodded.

"They were kissing. MY FIRST KIDS were kissing. And not just like," Sesshoumaru walked up to Rin and pecked her on the lips for a demonstration. "Not like that kissing. Like… _actually kissing._" Sesshoumaru whimpered, as Rin laughed loudly, sitting her cup of tea down on the computer table, and escorting her husband and mate over to the bed.

"Just lay down. The initial shock will wear off soon." Rin whispered into her mate's ear, kissing him once softly on the cheek. Sesshoumaru sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but decided against doing so, and simply pulled the girl into his arms.

"This…isn't right. I should be able to force those two apart, shouldn't I? There's a book of demon rules, and if there isn't, I'm writing one, and that's the first rule. That the caretaker gets to force his 'children' out of a relationship. That's the first fucking one." Sesshoumaru growled, as Rin burst into laughter, hugging him as tightly as her small arms would allow.

"Settle down,_ Inuyasha_, it's going to be alright." Rin joked, but Sesshoumaru growled.

"I am **not **being like my brother." The dog demon growled, and Rin laughed even harder.

"Believe what you will…" She whispered, curling up against his side and closing her eyes, letting her senses rest. Being a full blooded dog demon was slightly annoying at times…too many sounds and scents.

* * *

Inuyasha and Kagome walked into the hut silently to find…only Kaede and Shippo? Kagome's eyes widened in question, but Inuyasha already knew what had happened.

"C'mon, Kagome." He whispered, pulling her out of the hut, hoping that neither Kaede or Shippo had woken at their 'trespassing'. Leading the girl down to the nearest end of the forest, he motioned for her to get on his back. Kagome was completely lost. "They got their own hut." He whispered, and smiled at her expression. Kagome looked like she was going to cry.

"Wh-wh-what! WHY!" She said rather loudly, as Inuyasha chuckled and leapt into the forest.

"Nothing that drastic…yet…that I can smell." He said quietly, and slowed down as they came upon a small hut with a dim light shining out of it's one window and through the cracks of the bamboo door cover. Sango's laugh confirmed that they were both still awake. Inuyasha darted into the small hut, laughing at the monk's scared expression.

"Boo." He said dully, as Kagome struggled to get off of his back, and Sango laughed.

"I see we're all on good terms." The slayer said quietly, as Inuyasha nodded, holding Kagome tightly on his back still. Miroku stared in awe.

"Is that a…" Miroku's eyes widened in realization.

"Mate mark? Yes. Is that an engagement ring I spy on your finger, you letch?" He asked instantly, smiling at how quickly he had recovered from that.

"Yes, it is. And that is **all **that my dearest fiancé and I have done so far. However, I see that Kagome and yourself have taken things a step farther…" The monk's smile shone through the room. Kagome laughed loudly.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, _normal demons _mate and then mark. Well I'm not a _normal demon_, now am I?" Inuyasha asked loudly, as Kagome blushed and buried her head in Inuyasha's silver hair. Miroku laughed.

"So you havn't taken Kagome?" Sango screamed at Miroku and slapped him. Kagome didn't see it, but she heard it clearly. She also heard Inuyasha's LOUD growl.

"And so, I do believe that was my answer." The monk laughed, as Inuyasha sat Kagome down quietly.

"Well, well, well. My nose never lies." Inuyasha gave Miroku and Sango a sly look, as Kagome burst into laughter as their shades of blush matched perfectly.

"Don't worry, Kagome, Inuyasha's just being mean." Sango said, as she brushed her fingers through her hair. Kagome giggled.

"Blushes don't lie, Sango." Sango shook her head violently.

"WE HAVN'T DONE THAT YET!" She screamed, as Kagome and Inuyasha both burst into laughter. What a fun night was a head of them.

* * *

Kinda short, and it took forever, forever, FOREVER to get out. I know. But I decided to be nice. Love me. Hate me. Molest me with Paris Hilton in football pads. XD Gah. I love small boys in football pads, it's the funniest thing ever. –heart melts- But I'll cry if I get confronted about this A/N by the actual Paris Hilton, preferably when he _is_ in his football pads. But seriously, fanfiction dot net is my safe haven. Mmmhm. Anyway.

Ooh! Quick question: who else finds it hilarious that Inuyasha ends up saying "I love you… **damn it**." ? I thought it was the funniest thing ever when I wrote it. But then again, I'm a spazz.

Anyways…it's storming…and I still have to type up reviews….Amanda saves now.

* * *

REVIEWS! –does odd dance to odd theme song-

Kogasgirl142: I know, don't you just love it? I sure do.

inuhpgirlie: -glomp- AMANDA LOVES RAMEN! -eats happily- I'm so hungry...o.o; And I'll have to talk to you some time. Really, I will. My screen name is fire(underscore)burns(underscore)be(underscore)careful. But not tonight, I expect the power to go out soon. Blegh. But I love the storming, so it's ALL good.

peoplekityo: first off, I thought your user name was "pretty kikyo", because when I read this review originally, I was running on very little sleep. So I was all -claw, hiss, growl, kill-. But now it's all good. AND YOU GIVE ME POCKEY? I love you.

short-tempered: I havn't heard "Holy Toledo" since God only knows when. That made me smile.

Vxy: SO MANY REVIEWS! I love you. So much praise. It makes me feel good. Thankey for that. Aah, there was one review of yours that stood out... -is going through mail box at this moment- hmmm...UBERTASTIC is so a word.

Devouereddarkness: Hehe. I don't remember you reviewing...o.o; And thanks for reading. And THANK YOU for calling me a bastard. Seriously, I havn't been called that in SO LONG. It made me so happy. And that, my dear readers, is sad.

Kaith-kt: Hehehe. They do, they always do.


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